 Coccidian protozoan

 Obligate parasite

 Single-celled
 Worldwide
 Subtropical
 Tropical
 Domain: Eukaryote
 Phylum: Apicomplexa
 Class: Coccidia
 Order: Eucoccidiorida
 Family: Eimeriidae
 intestinal villus (enterocytes)

 lamina propria of the villus

1. Sexual
2. Asexual
 Immature, unsporulated oocyst is excreted through
feces.
 Sporoblast divides into two
 Each sporoblast develops into a sporocyst with 4
sporozoites, resulting in mature oocysts. The time spent
in stages 1 through 3 is 2-3 days.
 Mature oocyst is ingested.
 Oocyst bursts. Sporozoites are released and lodge into
the intestinal lining. Sporozoites undergo asexual
reproduction to form merozoites. The merozoites
mature into gametes which undergo fertilization to
produce a new oocyst
 Small intestine
 Oocyst.
Size:
 20-23 μm long
 10-19 μm wide
 Human

 Animal
o Transmitted by fecal-oral contamination.
o Occurs poor sanitation conditions.
o 3-14 day incubation period between the
ingestion of an infectious oocyst and onset
of symptoms.
o After ingestion, the sporozoites invade in
the small intestine which eventually
destroys these cells.
.
 Water

 contaminated food

 Poor sanitation
Acute infection include:

 Diarrhea with abdominal pain

 Malabsorption
 Weight loss
 Abdominal pain and cramping

 Anorexia and weight loss

 General malaise

 Low fever

 Vomiting
 Oocysts in the feces

 Duodenal biopsy

 Enterotest
Typical laboratory analyses include:

 Microscopy

 Morphologic comparison with other

intestinal parasites

 Bench aids for Isospora

 Warn travelers not to visit regions where the
protozoan is endemic
 Trimethoprim
(TMP)

 Sulfamethoxazole
(SMZ)

 Co-trimoxazole