Lec-1: Medical Parasitology-I (Protozoa)

For 3rd Semester MLT students

Relationships Among Organisms

Symbiosis
Symbiosis come from Greek word means "living together" it is any type of a close and
long-term biological interaction between two different biological organisms. In this
association one partner lives in or on the body of another organism, each of them termed
a symbiont, there are three types of symbiosis:

1- Commensalism
Commensalism literally means “Eating on the same table”, commensalism is a symbiotic
relationship between two organisms (Commensal and host), one species gets benefits
from the interaction and the other is unaffected, such as Entamoeba coli and man.

2- Mutualism
Mutualism literally means “living together”. It is a relationship between two organisms
(Mutant and host), metabolically dependent on one another; one cannot survive in the
absence of the other such as termites and flagellates (Trichonympha).

3- Parasitism
Parasitism is literally means “beside food”, parasitism is a relationship between two
organisms a parasite and a host, the parasite is benefit from this relationship while the
host is harmed, such as Entamoeba histolytica and man.

Some Parasitological Terms

Parasitology
Parasitology is the science that study parasites. Human parasitology is the study of those
organisms which parasitize on humans. According to the very broad definition of
parasitology, parasites should include the viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa and metazoan
which infect their host species.

Parasite:
The parasite is an organism that lives on or in the body of other organisms in order to
obtain food and shelter form the host as well as does harms to the host.

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Types of Parasites:
1- Commensal Parasites:
There are parasites which do not harm their hosts e.g. Entamoeba coli

2- Pathogenic Parasites:
Pathogenic parasites are those cause diseases to their hosts e.g. Entamoeba
histolytica

3- Temporary Parasites:
They eat and run or visit the host for food. Bloodsucking arthropods and leeches
are examples.

4- Permanent Parasites:
There are parasites which remain on or in their hosts from early life e.g. Entrobius
vermicularis.

5- Incidental Parasites: wrong host

There are parasites that attach or enter wrong host under natural conditions. E.g.
Fasciola hepatia infect dog instead of sheep.

6- Erratic Parasites:
There are parasites that wander into unusual places in the normal host. e.g.
Enterobius vermicularis infect vulva.

7- Zoonotic Parasites:
There are parasites which acquired from animals e.g. Diphyllobothrium latum.

According to location, parasites are divided into:

1- Ectoparasites:
There are parasites which inhabit on the body surface only, without penetrating into
the tissues, for example, Lice, Flea, Mites and ticks. Most ectoparasites act as vectors
for diseases and its presence on the host is called infestation.

2- Endoparasites:
There are organisms which live within the body of the host and their presence in the
host is called infection e.g. Entamoeba histolytica.

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According to structural point of view, parasites are divided into:
1- Unicellular parasites (Protozoa):
These organisms consist of only one cell e.g. Entamoeba histolytica.

2- Multicellular parasites (Metazoa):

These organisms consist of many cells, tissues and organs e.g. Entrobius
vermicularis.

Hosts
Hosts are organisms which they harbor parasites in or on their bodies.

Types of the hosts

1- Definitive Hosts (Final hosts):
There are hosts which harbor the adult stages or sexually reproductive stage of the
parasite.

2- Intermediate Hosts:
There are the hosts which harbor the larval stages or asexually reproductive stage of
the parasite. According to priority they are classified into first intermediate host,
second intermediate host, and third intermediate host.

Carrier:
A person who harbors parasite has no clinical symptoms, is an important source of
infection in epidemiology.

Reservoir:
There are the vertebrate hosts which harbor the same species of parasite at same stage as
a human host. They are an important source of infection in epidemiology.

Paratenic host (Transport host):

It is an abnormal host in which some parasitic larvae can survive but can’t develop into
adults.

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 Life cycles in Parasites
Life cycle is the process of a parasite’s growth, development and reproduction, which proceeds
in one or more different hosts depending on the species of parasites. There are three main stages
of the life cycle: 1) egg, 2) juvenile (larva), and 3) adult.

Types of life cycle in parasites

1- Simple life cycle (Direct life cycle): Parasites are transmitted directly from one host to
another one by means of its infective stages. E.g., Entamoeba histolytica and Giardia
lamblia.

2- Complicated life cycle (Indirect life cycle): Parasites are transmitted indirectly, they
involve the contribution of one or more intermediate host e.g., Schistosoma sp. and
Plasmodium sp.

Infection
Infection is the invasion of an organism's body tissues by a pathogen (parasites).
Infectious disease, also known as transmissible disease or communicable disease is illness
resulting from an infection.

Infective Stage: is a stage when a parasite can invade human body and live in it e.g. cyst of
Entamoeba histolytica.

Source of infection: It is the origin of the infectious agent. Most sources are other people, but
they can also be air, water, food or equipment that has become contaminated.

Infective Route: It is the specific entrance through which the parasite invades the human body
e.g. Entamoeba histolytica use oral route.

Sources of Infection
No. Sources of Infection Examples
1 Contaminated soil Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichurus trichiura
2 Contaminated water Entamoeba histolytica, Giardia lamblia, Schistosoma spp.
3 Food containing infective stage Diphyllobotherium latum, Taenia solium, Fasciola hepatica
4 Blood sucking arthropods Leishmania spp. Trypanosoma spp., Plasmodium spp.
5 Domestic and wild animals Toxoplasma gondii, Echinococcus granulosus
6 Human carrier Trichomonas vaginalis

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 Route of Infection
No. Rote of Infection Examples
1 Mouth Entamoeba histolytica, Diphyllobotherium latum, Fasciola
hepatica, Taenia saginata
2 Inhalation Entrobius vermicularis
3 Skin Schistosoma spp., Leishmania spp. Trypanosoma spp.,
Plasmodium spp.
4 Trans placental transmission Toxoplasma gondii
5 Sexual intercourse Trichomonas vaginalis
6 Blood transfusion Leishmania spp. Trypanosoma spp., Plasmodium spp.

Transmission
Transmission is the passing of a pathogen causing communicable disease from an infected host
individual or group to a particular individual or group, regardless of whether the other individual
was previously infected.

Types of transmission
1- Mechanical Transmission:
Mechanical transmission is facilitated by a mechanical vector, an animal that carries a
pathogen from one host to another without being infected itself. e.g. flies carry ascarid
eggs and amoebic cysts.

2- Biological Transmission:
Biological transmission occurs when the pathogen reproduces within a biological vector
that transmits the pathogen from one host to another e.g. Anopheles mosquitoes transmit
Plasmodium sp.

3- Horizontal transmission
It is the transmission of infections (parasite) between members of the same species that
are not in a parent-child relationship e.g. Transmission of Fasciola hepatica.

4- Vertical transmission:
It is the transmission of infection (parasite) from a mother to her baby during the period
immediately before and after birth. Transmission might occur across the placenta, in the
breast milk, or through direct contact during or after birth. e.g. Toxoplasma gondii can be
a vertically transmitted pathogen.

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 Human Parasites Phyla

Entamoeba histolytica, E. coli,

Phylum:
Protozoa Trichomonas vaginalis

Phylum:
Diphyllobotherium latum,
Platyhelminthes Taenia solium, Fasciola hepatica

Phylum: Entrobius vermicularis,

Parasites Phyla Nemathelminthes Ascaris lambricoides

Phylum: Leech
Annelida

Phylum: Lice, Ticks, Mites, Flea

Arthropoda