RochLista [PARASITOLOGY]
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
Parasites – organisms that life on and obtain
their nutrient from another organism.
Medical Parasitology – parasites of human and
their medical significance and their important in
human communication.
Tropical Medicine – tropical diseases of tropical
region.
Tropical Disease – illness indigenous to or
endemic in a tropical area
Biological Relationship
 Symbiosis
o living together of unlike
organisms
o association of two living
organisms, each of a different
species
 Mutualism
o association of two living
organisms that is beneficial to
both (benefit + benefit)
o e.g: butterfly and flower
 Commensalism
o association of two different
species of organisms that is
beneficial to one and neutral to
the other (benefit + unaffected)
 Parasitism
o association of two different
species of organisms that is
beneficial to one at the other’s
expense (benefit + harmed)
 Commensal
o relating to commensalism; the
association between two
different organisms in which
one benefits and has a neutral
effect on the other
 Pathogenic
o parasite that has demonstrated
the ability to cause disease
Types of Parasites
 Endoparasite
o parasite living inside the body
of a host
 Ectoparasite
o parasite living outside the body
of a host
 Obligatory parasite
o they need a host at some stage
of their life cycle to complete
their development
 Facultative parasite
o exist in a free-living state or
may become parasitic when the
need arises
 Accidental/incidental parasite
o establishes in a host where it
does not ordinary live.
o E.g: Brucei rhodesiense
 Permament parasite
o remains on or in the body of
the host for its entire life
 Temporary
o lives on the host only for a
short period of time
 Spurious
o free-living organism that passes
through the digestive tract
wihout infecting the host
Type of Host
 Definitive or Final host
o atains sexual maturity
 Intermediate host
o harbors the asexual or larval
stage of the parasite
 Paratenic host
o does not develop further to
later stages.
o E.g: Toxacara canis in mammals
and birds except dogs
 Reservoir host
o they allow the parasite’s life
cycle to continue.
o E.g: pigs for Balantidium coli
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 Vector  Intensity of infection – burden of

o transmitting the parasite from infection which is violated to the
one host to another number of worms per infected person
 Biologic vector
o transmits the parasite only after Overview:
the latter has completed its  Reservoir
development within the host. o main source of infectious
o E.g: mosquito organism feces, bodies of
 Mechanical or Phonetic vector water
o transports the parasite by  Vector
carrying them o Mechanical factors
(formites)
Exposure and Infection o Biological vectors
 Carrier (anthropods, fish, snail,
o harbors a particular pathogen crustaceans, plants)
without manifesting the signs  Host
and symptoms o Intermediate: asexual or
 Exposure larval stage
o process of inoculating an o Definitive: where the
infecting agent parasite attains
 Infecting connotes the establishment of
the infective agent in the host
 Incubation period Transmission of Parasites
o period between infection and  It depends on:
evidence of symptoms o Source or reservoir of infection
 Autoinfection results when an infected  man
individual becomes his own direct  animal
source of infection  insects
 fishes
Parasitic Life Cycles  water
 Infective stage  soil
o mode of transmission, a  raw food
morphologic form that invades o Mode of transmission
humans  oral fecio
 Diagnostic stage  skin penetration
o one or more forms that can be  sexual contact
detected via laboratory  bite of vectors
retrieval methods  vertical or genital
transmission
Epidemiologic Measures  blood transfusion
 Epidemiology – study of patterns,  autoinfection
distribution, and occurance of disease Diagnosis
 Incidence – number of new cases of 1. Clinical Diagnosis – signs and
infection appearing in a population in a symptoms
given period of time 2. Laboratory Diagnosis – identification
 Prevalence – number of individual in a of parasites
population estimated to be infected
with a paricular parasite species
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Laboratory Diagnosis Parasitic Diseases

 Parasitic Diagnosis – microscopically
or macroscopically
 Culture methods
 Immunodiagnostic methods –
antigen, antibody detection
 Intradermal skin tests
 Molecular tests
 Xenodiagnostic techniques
 Animal inoculation
 Imaging techniques

Treatment
 surgical intervations, adequate
nutrition and antiparasitic drugs

Prevention and Control

 proper use of sanitary, use of
footwear and proer washing of foods

Treatment (Antiparasitic drugs)

 Deworming - use of anthelminthic
drugs
 Selective treatment – individual
level deworming with selection for
treatment based on a diagnosis of
infection
 Targeted treatment – group level
deworming based on age, sex, or
other social characteristic
 Universal treatment – population
level deworming of a community