Parasitology Flashcards

1
Q

What is a parasite?

A

A parasite is an organism that lives on or in a host organism and gets its food from or at the expense of its host

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2
Q

State the 3 main classes of parasites which cause disease in humans?

A
  • Protozoa
  • Helminths
  • Ectoparasites
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3
Q

What are protozoa?

A
  • Microscopic, single-celled organisms that can be free-living (living within the environment) or parasitic in nature
  • Are able to multiply in humans allowing serious infections to develop from a single infection
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4
Q

Describe how transmission occurs for protozoa if living in the human intestine and blood/tissues?

A
  • Protozoa living in the human intestine can be transmitted by the fecal-oral route
  • Protozoa living in blood or tissues are transmitted by an arthropod vector
  • Arthropod vectors include mosquitoes, flies, biting midges, ticks, mites, fleas, bugs, lice, and other arthropods that carry and transmit disease-causing organisms, or pathogens, from one host to another.
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5
Q

What are Protozoa classified by?

A

Protozoa are classified by their mode of movement

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6
Q

State the 4 types with examples for each one?

A
  • Amoeba, e.g.Entamoeba: Finger-like projections of protoplasm
  • Flagellates, e.g.Giardia, Leishmania: Flagella
  • Ciliates e.g. Balantidium: Cilia
  • Sporozoa: organisms whose adult stage is not motile: e.g.Plasmodium,Cryptosporidium
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7
Q

State 9 medically important protozoa infections?

A
  • Entamoeba histolytica
  • Giardia lamblia
  • Trichomonas vaginalis
  • Malaria (Plasmodium spp.)
  • Toxoplasma gondi
  • Cryptosporidium
  • Leishmania spp.
  • Trypansomacruzi
  • Trypansomabrucei (gambiense/rhodesiense)
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8
Q

What are helminths?

A
  • Helminths are large, multicellular organisms (worms) generally visible to the naked eye in their adult stages.
  • In their adult form, helminths cannot multiply in humans.
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9
Q

State the 3 main classes of helminths which are human parasites?

A
  • Nematodes (roundworms)
  • Trematodes (flukes)
  • Cestodes (tapeworms)
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10
Q

Nematodes
State 3 types of medically important nematodes?

A
  • Soil transmitted helminths
  • Filarial parasites: Transmitted by biting flies and mosquitos
  • Others
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11
Q

State 4 examples for soil-transmitted helmniths

A
  • Ascaris lumbricoides
  • Trichuris trichiura
  • Hookworm spp.
  • Enterobius vermicularis
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12
Q

State 4 examples for filarial parasites?

A
  • Wuchereria bancrofti
  • Loa loa
  • Onchocerca volvulus
  • Dracunculus medinensis
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13
Q

State 2 examples for the other category of nematodes

A
  • Toxocaracanis/cati
  • Trichinella spiralis
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14
Q

Trematodes
State 4 examples of medically important trematodes?

A
  • Schistosoma mansoni/haematobium/japonicum
  • Clonorchissinensis
  • Fasciolahepatica
  • Paragonimusspp
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15
Q

Cestodes
State 3 examples of medically important cestodes?

A
  • Tania saginata
  • Taenia solium
  • Echinococcus granulosus
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16
Q

What are ectoparasites?

A

Blood-sucking arthropods (invertebrate animal which has an exoskeleton) such as ticks, fleas, lice, and mites that attach or burrow into the skin and remain there for relatively long periods of time (e.g., weeks to months).

17
Q

Medically important ectoparasites
State 2 types of medically important mites?

A
  • Scabies
  • Trombiculid
18
Q

State 2 types of medically important ticks

A
  • Hard
  • Soft
19
Q

State 3 types of medically important lice?

A
  • Pediculus humans capitis
  • Pediculus humanus humanus
  • Pthirus pubis
20
Q

State 1 examples of medically important flies?

A

Botflies

21
Q

Which regions of land does parasitic infections can cause a tremendous burden of disease?

A
  • Tropics and subtropics as well as in more temperate climates
  • Also affects people in developed countries but at a lower rate
22
Q

What parasitic disease does the neglected topical diseases (NTDs) include?

A
  • Lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, and Guinea worm disease
  • It affect >1 billion people, largely in rural areas of low-income countries.
23
Q

Describe the type of hosts parasities can have within their lifecycle?

A
  • Parasites often have complex life cycles
  • Type of host:
  • Intermediate: A host in which larval or asexual stages develop
  • Intermediate host is the host harboring a parasite that primarily grows but not to the point of reaching (sexual) maturity
  • Definitive: A host in which adult or sexual stage occurs
  • A definitive host is a biological organism in whose body a parasite sexually multiplies and completes its life cycle
24
Q

Describe the type of vectors parasities can have within their lifecycle?

A
  • Vectors: A vector is an organism that helps transmit infection from one host to another)
  • Mechanical when no development of parasite in vector
  • Mechanical vectors transmit diseases by transporting the causative agent from contaminated material (e.g. faeces) on their feet or mouth parts and then spreading the pathogens or parasites on to human food, drink, faces or eyes.
  • Biological when some stages of life cycle occur
  • Any living agent that carries and transmits an infectious pathogen to another living organism from an infected organism
  • Biological vectors, such as mosquitoes and ticks may carry pathogens that can multiply within their bodies and be delivered to new hosts, usually by biting.
25
Q

What is the primary determinant of distributions of parasite infections in humans?

A
  • Relative wealth of countries
  • More likely to occur in poorer countries
26
Q

What is the relationship between parasite infections within animals and humans?

A
  • Many parasite infection are endemic (frequent) within animal populations, so there are limited opportunites for transmission to humans
  • Therefore the right environment and opportunities are needed for transmission to occur to humans
27
Q

What is the key determinant of parasite infections and state 4 factors which determine?

A
  • Depends on mode of transmission and opportunities for transmission. Examples:
    1. Faceo-oral (exposure to human faces)
    2. Food
    3. Complex life cycles
    a. Distributions of vectors and intermediate/definitive hosts
    4. Other factors
28
Q

State what can be done to prevent faceo-oral transmission occuring?

A
  • Household sanitation
  • Access to clean water
  • Personal hygiene behaviours
29
Q

State what can be done to prevent food parasite transmission occuring?

A
  • Household sanitation
  • Access to clean water
  • Personal hygiene behaviours
30
Q

State what can be done to prevent other transmission occuring?

A
  • Government resources and level of human development/per capita income
  • Education
  • Country-level and regional control programmes
  • Availability of cheap and efficacious treatments
  • Construction and building regulations (egChagas): Bugs can transmit via cracks in wall
  • Urban vs. rural residence: Rural has higher chance
  • Environmental sanitation