Most antiprotozoal medications have strong effects on children, and using them might cause serious

reactions. Many of these medications are not proved safe or effective in youngsters, so use extreme
caution.

Adults should be educated on the importance of protozoal infection prevention and treatment.
Calendars can be used to remind people to take drugs before, during, and after exposure.

Notify your doctor if you are pregnant or nursing. If any of these drugs are used, women should be
advised to use barrier contraception. A pregnant woman traveling to an area endemic with protozoal
infections should be advised of the serious risks to the fetus associated with both preventive therapy
and treatment of acute attacks, as well as the risks associated with contracting the disease.

These medications' side effects may be more severe in older people. They must be closely watched.
Patients with hepatic dysfunction are more susceptible to toxicity and increasing hepatic issues. If
hepatic dysfunction is expected (extreme age, alcohol abuse, use of other hepatotoxic drugs), the dose
may need to be lowered and the patient be monitored more frequently.

Amebiasis, an intestinal infection caused by Entamoeba histolytica. This organism exists in two stages:
(1) a cystic, dormant stage, in which the protozoan can live for long periods outside the body or in the
human intestine, and (2) a trophozoite stage in the ideal environment—the human large intestine.

The disease is transmitted while the protozoan is in the cystic stage in fecal matter, from which it can
enter water and the ground. It can be passed to other humans who drink this water or eat food that has
been grown in this ground. Cysts ingested by the host enter the intestinal tract and produce
trophozoites. Trophozoites enter the bloodstream to reach tissue. Trophozoites enter the liver, lungs,
heart, brain, and spleen which can be fatal to the host. Trophozoites are excreted in the stool and die.
Cysts excreted in the stool contaminate water and can be ingested by the host which will eventually
begin the cycle of infection to the host. Amebiasis causes mild to severe diarrhea. If the protozoan can
infiltrate extraintestinal tissue, it can destroy it and eventually kill the host. Some people become
carriers of the disease without showing any symptoms. These patients seem immune to the intestinal
invasion but pass the cysts in stools.

A promastigote is an asexual form injected by this flagellated protozoan (sandflies) that is quickly
targeted and digested by human macrophages. Inside the macrophages, the promastigote divides,
developing many new forms called amastigotes, which keep dividing and eventually kill the macrophage,
releasing the amastigotes into the system to be devoured by more macrophages. Thus, a cyclic pattern
of infection is established. These amastigotes can cause serious lesions in the skin, the viscera, or the
mucous membranes of the host.

Trypanosomiasis is caused by infection with Trypanosoma. Two parasitic protozoal species cause very
serious and often fatal diseases in humans: (read ppt)
Trichomoniasis, which is caused by another flagellated protozoan, Trichomonas vaginalis, is a common
cause of vaginitis. This infection is usually spread during sexual intercourse by men who have no signs
and symptoms of infection. In women, this protozoan causes reddened, inflamed vaginal mucosa,
itching, burning, and a yellowish-green discharge.

Giardiasis has a cystic and trophozoite stage and follows the cycle just like the Entamoeba histolytica
that causes amebiasis.

Pneumocystis jiroveci is an endemic protozoan that does not usually cause illness in humans. When an
individual’s immune system becomes suppressed because of AIDS or AIDSrelated complex, the use of
immunosuppressant drugs, or advanced age, this parasite is able to invade the lungs, leading to severe
inflammation and the condition known as Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia. This disease is the most
common opportunistic respiratory infection in patients with AIDS.