Introduction to Parasitology

Introduction
• Parasitology is the study of parasites and their relationships to
their hosts.
• Parasite is an organism that lives in or on an organism of another
species (its host) and benefits by deriving nutrients at the other's
expense.
• Hostmainly refers to a living organism that acts as a for invading
pathogenic organisms.
• Living cells, tissues, organ & humans, plants and animals.
 Relation with other branches

Protozology Helminthology
(Parasitic protozoans) (Parasitic Helminthes)
PARASITOLOG
Y
Medical arthropodology Certain fungi, bacteria and
(act as vectors) all viruses
 Human parasitology
• Human parasitology, an important part of
parasitology,
• Studying the medical parasites including
their,
• Morphology & life cycle
• The relationship with host and
environment.
• The objectives are to study the way or the
measurement of parasitic diseases control.
 IMPORTANCE OF PARASITOLOGY
• In past, parasitic diseases were the most common diseases in the world.
• Therefore, parasitology played important role on the medicine and
public health
• Accordingto the WHO, 2001 year report, parasitic diseases is still
an important human diseases.
• 210 million people reside in the endemic areas of malaria
• 10 million cases with malaria occur every year
• 20 million infected individuals was estimated in the world.
 WHO has proclaimed that 10 major unconquered
human tropical diseases
• African trypanosomiasis Dengue
• Leishmaniasis Malaria
• Schistosomiasis Tuberculosis
• Chagas disease Leprosy
• Lymphatic filariasis Onchocerciasis
• In the early 1950s, the estimated number of people
suffered from schistosomiasis totaled cases 10 million, and
that from malaria and filariasis, 30 million each.
• The Chinese government has paid great attention to
investigation and control of parasites, with particular
emphasis on the five major ones,
• Schistosomiasis
• Malaria
• Filariasis
• hookworm disease.
 GENERAL
CONSIDERATIONS
 Symbiosis
• Symbiosis means “living together of both members of species.
• Symbiont means organism that spends its life intimately associated
with another living organism of a different species.
• There are at least three categories of symbiosis whose are
commonly recognized:
• Commensalisms
• mutualism
• parasitism
 Commensalism
• It was from Latin language means, “eating at same table”
• An association which is beneficial to one partner and at
least not disadvantageous to the other.
• The two partners can survive independently.
 Mutualism
• Mutualism is an association in which the mutualist and
the host depend on each other physiologically.
• It is seen where such associations are beneficial to both
organisms (partners).
• It is a form of symbiosis that organisms develop for any
of a number of reasons, including a need for protection,
nutrition, shelter, or reproduction.
 Parasitism
• Parasitism is another type of symbiotic relationship between two
organisms:
• A parasite, usually the smaller of the two,
• A host, , upon which the parasite is physiologically dependent.
• The relationship may be permanent ,as in the case of tapeworms found in
the vertebrate intestine
• Temporary, as with female mosquitoes, some leeches, and ticks, which
feed intermittently on host blood.
 Parasite
• Its
biological definition is an animal or plant which lives in or
upon another organism(technically called its host) and draws its
nutriment directly from it.
• By this definition all infectious agents, viruses, bacteria, fungi,
protozoa, and helminths are parasites.
• Traditionally protozoa , helnimths and medical arthropods , so
called parasites, are studied in medical or human parasitology