Protozoa Flashcards
(33 cards)
What is giardia?
Flagellated protozoans
What 2 forms can giardia be seen in?
Mobile trophozoite form and cyst stage
Which part of the body does giardia affect?
Intestinal mucuso
How is giardia passed and transmitted?
Passed through the feces as cysts, contaminates the soil or water, is ingested and forms into trophozoite
How is giardia diagnosed?
Fecal float using zinc sulfate or sheather sugar solution with immunodiagnostic tests
Entamoeba histolytica causes what?
Amebic dysentery in humans and acute or chronic diarrhea in dogs, rarely affects cats
Which part of the body does entamoeba histolytica affect?
Large intestine
What is the name of the single, spherical nucleus seen in entamoeba histolytica under the microscope?
Endosome
How is E. histolytica diagnosed?
Fecal float using direct smear to observe motile & cyst forms in diarrhea, and cyst forms in formed stool. Can use zinc sulfate or lugol iodine.
Which animal can most likely harbor E. histolytica?
Primates
What is toxoplasma gondii?
Intestinal coccidian of cats
How is toxoplasma gondii diagnosed?
Standard fecal float, are unsporulated in fresh feces.
Immunodiagnostic tests with whole blood
How do cats get T. gondii?
Ingests oocytes from stool or tachyzoites from prey
What are tachyzoites and bradyzoites?
refer to the rapidly growing life stage of T. gondii that has also been called endozoites or trophozoites. Bradyzoites (brady = slow), also called cystozoites, are the life stage found in the tissue cyst and are believed to replicate slowly.
What is cryptosporidium?
Coccidian like parasite that parasitizes the mucosal cells of small intestine and causes inflammation there. There are species that parasitize many animals, including humans.
What is the major sign of cryptosporidium infection?
Diarrhea
How is cryptosporidium diagnosed?
Fecal float using modified acid fast stain, ELISA test.
How is cryptosporidium observed under the microscope?
Just under the coverslip, not in the plane of focus of other oocysts and parasites because they’re very small.
How is cryptosporidium transmitted?
Ingesting oocysts, which can infect water, soil, food, or surfaces contaminated by infected feces
What is Babesia canis?
Intracellular parasite within the RBC of dogs
How is babesia canis spread?
Infected tick bites
How is babesia canis diagnosed?
Observing basophilic, pear shaped organisms in RBC in stained blood smears.
What are symptoms of babesia canis infection?
pale mm, hemoglobinuria, depression, hemoglobinemia, weakness, splenomegaly, fever, anorexia
What are 3 drugs used to treat Giardian?
Metronidazole, Fenbendazole, Albendazole
