Ch 9b

Protozoa

Garcia, Caridad D. RPh RN

College of Nursing Mabini Colleges
Daet, Camarines Norte 4600 Philippines
profcarrie68@yahoo.com
 Important Protozoan Pathogens

 Pathogenic flagellates
 Trypanosomes – Trypanosoma
 T. brucei – African sleeping sickness

 T. cruzi – Chaga’s disease; South America

 Infective amebas
 Entamoeba histolytica – amebic dysentery;
worldwide

2
Stages in the
infection &
transmission
of amebic
dysentery

3
A. Amoebas (Subphylum Sarcodina)
 Several species cause amoebic dysenteries
of varying degrees of severity.
 Entamoeba hystolytica: Feeds on
red blood cells. Produces
dysentery and extraintestinal
cysts.
 Dientamoeba fragilis: Found in
4% of humans. Usually
commensal. Can cause chronic,
mild diarrhea.
A. Amoebas (Subphylum Sarcodina)
 Other diseases include:
 Meningoencephalitis: Caused by
Naegleria fowleri. Penetrate nasal
mucosa of swimmers in warm
waters. Mortality rate almost
100%.
 Keratitis: Caused by
Acanthamoeba. Can cause
blindness. Associated with use of
contact lenses.
B. Flagellates (Subphylum
Mastigophora)
 Move by one or more whiplike
flagella. Some parasitic flagellates
have up to eight flagella.
 Most are spindle shaped with flagella
projecting from anterior end.
 Outer membrane is a tough pellicle.
Food is ingested through an oral
groove or cytosotome.
B. Flagellates (Subphylum Mastigophora)
 Important pathogens:

 Trichomonas vaginalis: Causes

genital and urinary infections. Has
undulating membrane. Lacks a cyst
stage. Transmitted sexually or by
fomites.
 Giardia lamblia: Causes a persistent
intestinal infection (giardiasis) with
diarrhea, nausea, flatulence, and
cramps.
B. Flagellates (Subphylum Mastigophora)
 Important pathogens:

 Trypanosoma brucei gambiense:

Hemoflagellate (blood parasite).
Causes African sleeping sickness.
Transmitted by Tse-Tse fly.
 Trypanosoma cruzi: Hemoflagellate that
causes Chaga’s disease, a
cardiovascular disease common in
Texas and Latin America. Transmitted
by kissing bug living in mud houses or
blood transfusions. Can cause heart
damage (heart failure, arrythmia over
several years).
2. Apicomplexans (Phylum Apicomplexa)
 Not motile in their mature form.
 Obligate intracellular parasites.
 Have specialized organelles at tip (apex) of
cells that penetrate host tissues.
 Complex life cycles. May have more than one
host. Definitive host: Harbors sexually
reproducing form. Intermediate host: In
which asexual reproduction occurs.
2. Apicomplexans (Phylum Apicomplexa)
 Important pathogens:

 Plasmodium vivax and falciparum: Cause malaria in

humans (intermediate host).
Initially treated with quinine, drug resistance is a major
problem today.
Major cause of worldwide mortality: Kill 3 million
people/year and infect 500 million.
Transmitted by Anopheles mosquito (definitive host).
DDT (dichlordiphenyltrichloroethane) an insecticide, was
used extensively in 1960s in an attempt to eradicate the
mosquito vector.
Successful vaccine not available yet.
Life Cycle of Plasmodium spp.
the Infectious Agent of Malaria
 The malarial protozoan,
Plasmodium
Gametocyte in red blood cell

Ring stage and other

stages of Plasmodium
in red blood cells
 Scanning EM of Plasmodium
bursting out of red blood cells

Gametocyte of
Plasmodium
2. Apicomplexans (Phylum Apicomplexa)
 Important pathogens:

 Toxoplasma gondii: Causes toxoplasmosis

in humans. Causes blindness and lymphatic
infections in adults. Dangerous to pregnant
women: causes severe neurological defects
in unborn children. Cats are part of life
cycle, oocysts excreted in feces. Contact
with infected feces or meat are means of
transmission.
2. Apicomplexans (Phylum Apicomplexa)
 Important pathogens:

 Cryptosporidium: Causes respiratory and

gallbladder infections in
immunosuppressed individuals. Found in
intestines of mammals and water. Major
cause of death in AIDS patients.
 Cyclospora cayetensis: New parasite (1996)
caused diarrhea associated with
raspberries.
3. Ciliates (Phylum Ciliophora)

 Move and obtain food using cilia.

 Only known human pathogen is
Balantidium coli, which causes a
severe intestinal infection in pigs
and humans.
4. Microsporans (Phylum Mycrospora)
 Obligate intracellular parasites, lack
mitochondria and microtubules.
 Discovered in 1984 to cause chronic
diarrhea and conjunctivitis, mainly in
AIDS patients.
Paramecium caudatum is a Ciliated Protozoan
Conjugation Between Opposite Mating Strains
Importance
 Ecologically important in food
webs and decomposing organic
matter
 Medical significance: protozoan
infections