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Protozoa (sg.: protozoan or protozoon; alternative plural: protozoans) are a polyphyletic group of single-celled eukaryotes, either free-living or parasitic, that feed on organic matter such as other microorganisms or organic debris.
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 .
The causative organism of malaria is a protozoan, Plasmodium falciparium, that is carried by the female Anopheles mosquito. [4] Malaria is recorded as the most common disease in Sub-Saharan Africa, and some Asian countries with the highest number of deaths. [5] Studies have shown the increased prevalence of this disease since 2015. [6]
In most systems of taxonomy, "Ciliophora" is ranked as a phylum [6] under any of several kingdoms, including Chromista, [7] Protista [8] or Protozoa. [9] In some older systems of classification, such as the influential taxonomic works of Alfred Kahl , ciliated protozoa are placed within the class " Ciliata " [ 10 ] [ 11 ] (a term which can also ...
Plasmodium malariae is a parasitic protozoan that causes malaria in humans. It is one of several species of Plasmodium parasites that infect other organisms as pathogens, also including Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax, responsible for most malarial infection.
[2] [3] Typically, the term pathogen is used to describe an infectious microorganism or agent, such as a virus, bacterium, protozoan, prion, viroid, or fungus. [4] [5] [6] Small animals, such as helminths and insects, can also cause or transmit disease. However, these animals are usually referred to as parasites rather than pathogens. [7]
Leishmania / l iː ʃ ˈ m eɪ n i ə,-ˈ m æ n-/ [1] is a parasitic protozoan, a single-celled organism of the genus Leishmania that is responsible for the disease leishmaniasis. [2] [3] [4] They are spread by sandflies of the genus Phlebotomus in the Old World, and of the genus Lutzomyia in the New World.
Tick-borne diseases, which afflict humans and other animals, are caused by infectious agents transmitted by tick bites. [1] They are caused by infection with a variety of pathogens, including rickettsia and other types of bacteria, viruses, and protozoa. [2]