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Human parasites are divided into endoparasites, which cause infection inside the body, and ectoparasites, which cause infection superficially within the skin. [1] Parasites in general are hosts-dependent organisms that obtain nutrients while potentially harming their host in the process. [1] Introduction
Main article: Human parasite Endoparasites Protozoan organisms Common name of organism or disease Latin name (sorted) Body parts affected Diagnostic specimen Prevalence Source/Transmission (Reservoir/Vector) Granulomatous amoebic encephalitis and Acanthamoeba keratitis (eye infection) Acanthamoeba spp. eye, brain, skin culture worldwide contact lenses cleaned with contaminated tap water ...
Protozoan infections are responsible for diseases that affect many different types of organisms, including plants, animals, and some marine life. Many of the most prevalent and deadly human diseases are caused by a protozoan infection, including African sleeping sickness, amoebic dysentery, and malaria.
Many protozoan pathogens are human parasites, causing serious diseases such as malaria, giardiasis, toxoplasmosis, and sleeping sickness. Some of these protozoa have two-phase life cycles, alternating between proliferative stages (e.g., trophozoites ) and resting cysts , enabling them to survive harsh conditions.
This was the first protozoan parasite of humans to be seen under a microscope. [128] A few years later, in 1687, the Italian biologists Giovanni Cosimo Bonomo and Diacinto Cestoni described scabies as caused by the parasitic mite Sarcoptes scabiei , marking it as the first disease of humans with a known microscopic causative agent.
Parasites are organisms which derive sustenance from its host while causing it harm. [2] The study of parasites and parasitic diseases is known as parasitology. [3] Medical parasitology is concerned with three major groups of parasites: parasitic protozoa, helminths, and parasitic arthropods. [2]
A parasite is an organism that live on or within another organism called the host. These include organisms such as: [4] Plasmodium spp., the protozoan parasite which causes malaria. The six species infective to humans are P. falciparum, P. malariae, P. vivax, P. ovale wallikeri, P. ovale curtisi, and P. knowlesi.
Some types of helminths and protozoa are classified as intestinal parasites that cause infection—those that reside in the intestines. These infections can damage or sicken the host (humans or other animals). If the intestinal parasite infection is caused by helminths, the infection is called helminthiasis.