Parasitology

Introduction
• Parasitology is the study of parasites, their hosts, and the relationship
between them
• the study of three major groups of animals: parasitic protozoa,
parasitic helminths (worms), and those arthropods that directly cause
disease or act as vectors of various pathogens.
Types of parasites
• There are three main types of parasites.

• Protozoa: Examples include the single-celled organism known as

Plasmodium. A protozoa can only multiply, or divide, within the host.

• Helminths: These are worm parasites. Examples include roundworm,

pinworm, trichina spiralis, tapeworm, and fluke.

• Ectoparasites: These live on, rather than in their hosts. They include lice and
fleas.
Classification

Parasites

Protozoa Metazoa

Sporozoa Roundworm
Flagellates Ameboides ciliates s Flatworms

Flukes Tapeworms
Protozoa
• More than 50,000 species have been described
• Anton van Leeuwenhoek was the first person to see protozoa
• Protozoa are one-celled animals found worldwide in most habitats.
Most species are free living, but all higher animals are infected with
one or more species of protozoa
• confined to moist or aquatic habitats,
• Protozoa are microscopic unicellular eukaryotes that have a relatively
complex internal structure and carry out complex metabolic activities.
Some protozoa have structures for propulsion or other types of
movement
Structure
• The smallest (mainly intracellular forms) are 1 to 10 μm long, but
Balantidium coli may measure 150 μm. Protozoa are unicellular eukaryotes
• the nucleus is enclosed in a membrane
• In protozoa other than ciliates, the nucleus is vesicular, with scattered
chromatin giving a diffuse appearance to the nucleus
• The plasma membrane enclosing the cytoplasm also covers the projecting
locomotory structures such as pseudopodia, cilia, and flagella.
• The outer surface layer of some protozoa, termed a pellicle, is sufficiently
rigid to maintain a distinctive shape
Nutrition
• The nutrition of all protozoa is holozoic; that is, they require organic
materials, which may be particulate or in solution
• Pinocytosis is a method of ingesting nutrient materials whereby fluid
is drawn through small, temporary openings in the body wall.
• The ingested material becomes enclosed within a membrane to form
a food vacuole.

• Protozoa have metabolic pathways similar to those of higher animals

and require the same types of organic and inorganic compounds.
Reproduction
• Binary fission, the most common form of reproduction, is asexual;
Division is longitudinal in the flagellates and transverse in the ciliates;
• multiple asexual division occurs in some forms.
• Both sexual and asexual reproduction occur in the Apicomplexa
• Sexual reproduction in ciliates is conjugation
• Some protozoa have complex life cycles requiring two different host
species; others require only a single host to complete the life cycle
Forms in protozoa
Classification1. Flagellates: (Mastigophora)
• A flagellate is a cell or organism with one or more whip-like
appendages called flagella.
• May have thin pellicle or covering of jelly like substance
• Reproduction is Asexual(Longitudinal splitting) or Sexual
• There are about 8,500 living species of flagellates
• Divided in two classes
1. Phytoflagellate(phytomastigophorea) Photosynthetic Non parasitic
2. Zooflagellate (Zoomastigophorea)
Types of flagellates
Giardia lamblia
• Giardia lamblia (also known as Lamblia intestinalis and Giardia
duodenalis) is a parasite that infects the intestines and causes
giardiasis or 'beaver fever’.
• Giardia affects humans, cats, dogs and birds, cows, beavers, deer, and
sheep
• 20,000 cases of giardiasis occur each year in the U.S., and there is a
20% to 40% prevalence in the world's population
• Giardia lamblia exists in two forms, an active form called a
trophozoite, and an inactive form called a cyst.
Trophozoite and cyst
• The active trophozoite attaches to the lining of the small intestine
with a "sucker" and is responsible for causing the signs and symptoms
of giardiasis
• The inactive cyst, on the other hand, can exist for prolonged periods
outside the body.
Infection
• When it is ingested, stomach acid activates the cyst, and the cyst
develops into the disease-causing trophozoite.
• It takes ingestion of only ten cysts to cause infection
• they produce the cysts that exit the body in the feces and spread the
infection to others.
Spread of disease
• Cysts of Giardia are present in the feces of infected persons
• The infection is spread from person to person by contamination of
food with feces, or by direct fecal-oral contamination.
• Cysts also survive in water, for example in fresh water lakes and
streams.
symptoms
• The most common manifestations of giardiasis are diarrhea and
abdominal pain
• bloating,
• nausea with or without vomiting,
• malaise, and
• fatigue.
• Fever is unusual
• Stools may be foul smelling
• loss of weight.
Diagnosis
• The best single test for diagnosing giardiasis is antigen testing of the
stool.

• For antigen testing, a small sample of stool is tested for the presence
of Giardial proteins
• Giardia also can be diagnosed by examination of stool under the
microscope for cysts or trophozoites; however, it takes three samples
of stool to diagnose 90% of cases
String test
• The string test is a more comfortable method for obtaining a sample
of duodenal fluid. For the string test, a gelatin capsule that contains a
loosely-woven string is swallowed. One end of the string protrudes
from the capsule and is taped to the patient's outer cheek. Over
several hours, the gelatin capsule dissolves in the stomach, and the
string uncoils, with the last 12 inches or so passing into the
duodenum. In the duodenum the string absorbs a small amount of
duodenal fluid. The string then is untapped from the cheek and is
removed. The collected duodenal fluid is expressed from the string
and is examined under the microscope
String test
Treatment
• The most common treatment for giardiasis is metronidazole (Flagyl)
for 5-10 days.
• furazolidone as the FDA-approved drug for treatment
• Furazolidone and Quinacrine are effective for treating giardiasis
Prevetion
• The adequacy of the treatment of water, boil the water or filter it
through a filter with a pore size of <1 micrometer, which will exclude
trophozoites and cysts
• Wash hands before eating food, after changing diapers, using the
bathroom, or touching pets.
Amoeboids (Sarcodina)
• Sarcodina: Protozoans (amoebas) that move with pseudopodia
• An amoeba (also ameba, amœba or amoeboid) is a type of cell or
organism which has the ability to alter its shape, primarily by
extending and retracting pseudopods
• These organisms have streaming cytoplasm and use temporary
cytoplasmic extensions called pseudopodia in locomotion (called
amoeboid movement) and feeding
Structure
• The cytoplasm, composed of ectoplasm and endoplasm, may contain
more than one nucleus. Food, which adheres to the body surface or is
trapped by pseudopodia, is digested in food vacuoles.
• Sarcodines reproduce sexually by syngamy (fusion of two gametes)
and asexually by division or budding
• Sarcodines may be either solitary or colonial.
• some are parasitic on plants or animals, most sarcodines are free-
living, feeding on bacteria, algae, other protozoans, or organic debris
Contractile vacuoles
• To regulate osmotic pressure, most freshwater amoebae have a
contractile vacuole which expels excess water from the cell
• This organelle is necessary because freshwater has a lower
concentration of solutes (such as salt) than the amoeba's own
internal fluids
• Marine amoebae do not usually possess a contractile vacuole because
the concentration of solutes within the cell are in balance with the
tonicity of the surrounding water
• Some amoebae also feed by pinocytosis, imbibing dissolved nutrients
through vesicles formed within the cell membrane
Amoeba proteus,Actinosphaerium,Arcelis
and Entamoeba
Entamoeba histolytica
• The Entamoeba is a parasite.
• 20-35µm
• An anaerobic parasitic amoebozoan
• consists of an infective cyst stage and a multiplying Trophozoite stage
• Entamoeba histolytica is known to cause disease. Infection of this
amoeba leads to amoebic dysentery
• Estimated to infect about 35-50 million people worldwide.
• up to 100,000 deaths yearly.
Transmission
• Transmission of the infection occurs by ingesting the cysts that
contaminate food or water supplies
• The cysts are readily killed by heat and by freezing temperatures, and
survive for only a few months outside of the host.
• Poor sanitary conditions are known to increase the risk of contracting
amebiasis E. histolytica
• Endemic areas, such as Mexico, other parts of Latin America, and
Asia.
Pathology
• The trophozoites are excysted in the terminal ileum region, they
colonize the large bowel, remaining on the surface of the mucus layer
and feeding on bacteria and food particles
• Trophozoites move through the mucus layer where they come in
contact with the epithelial cell layer and start the pathological process
• E. histolytica has a lectin that binds to galactose and N-
acetylgalactosamine sugars on the surface of the epithelial cells
• The parasite has several enzymes such as pore forming proteins,
lipases, and cysteine proteases
Pathology
• Enzymes released allow penetration into intestinal wall and blood
vessels, sometimes on to liver and other organs.
• The trophozoites will then ingest these dead cells.
• This damage to the epithelial cell layer attracts human immune cells
and these in turn can be lysed by the trophozoite
• The tissue destruction manifests itself in the form of an 'ulcer' in the
tissue, typically described as flask-shaped because of its appearance
in transverse section and can also involve blood vessels leading to
bloody diarrhea, amebic dysentery.
Formation of cysts
• Trophozoites multiply by binary fission and produce cysts
• Both stages are passed in the feces
Symptoms
• They have a fever of 102 degrees F (40 degrees C) or higher.
• They have severe abdominal pain.
• They have bloody diarrhea.
Complications
• Symptoms include severe dysentery and associated complications.
• Severe chronic infections may lead to further complications such as
peritonitis, perforations, and the formation of amebic granulomas
(ameboma).

• Amebic liver abscesses are the most common manifestation of

extraintestinal amebiasis.
• Pleuropulmonary abscess, brain abscess, and necrotic lesions on the
perianal skin and genitalia have also been observed.
Diagnosis
• Diagnosis is confirmed by microscopic examination for trophozoites or
cysts in fresh or suitably preserved faecal specimens, smears of
aspirates or scrapings obtained by proctoscopy, and aspirates of
abscesses or other tissue specimen.
• E. histolytica may be observed with ingested red blood cells
(erythrophagocytosis)
Prevention
• Avoid drinking tap water. Drink bottled beverages and brush your
teeth with bottled water. Avoid ice in drinks as they are commonly
made from tap water.
• Avoid eating raw fruits and vegetables cleaned with tap water.
• Eat well-cooked food when traveling, avoiding undercooked fish or
meats.
• Avoid eating street vendors in carts or stands.
• Frequently wash hands after using the restroom, touching animals,
before eating, or handling trash.