General Applied Parasitology & Mycology

APPLIED PARASITOLOGY
AND MYCOLOGY
General Parasitology
By
Mr Matheus Heita Namidi
Oshakati campus 2020
Parasite
• A living organism that depends on a living host for its survival and derives
nutrition from the host without giving any benefit to the host.
• Parasites may live in or on a living tissues of the host without causing any
evident harm. However most of the parasites have the capacity to cause
damage to the host in various ways.
Classification
• All organisms belong to the five kingdoms: Monera, Protista, Fungi,
Plantae and Animalia.
• Protozoology and helminthology are two branches that deals with the
study of protozoa and helminths.
• Protozoa are eukaryotic and unicelluar belonging to kingdom protista
• Helminths are eukarotic and multicellularbelonging to kingdom
animalia.
Classification of parasites
Protozoa (unicellular) Helminths (multicellular)
• Amoebae • Trematodes
• Flagellates • Cestodes
• Sporozoa • Nematodes
• Cilliates
Types of parasites
• Ectoparasites: Live on the external surfaces of the host. The term
ifestation is used when the parasitic diseases are caused by
ectoparasites.
• Endoparasites: Live within the body of the host. All protozoan and
helminthic pararsites of human beings are endoparasites. The term
infection is used when the parasitic diseases are caused by
endoparasites.
Types of parasites
• Obligate parasites: Parasites that cannot exist without their hosts..eg Malaria
parasite.
• Facultative parasites: Organisms that live a parasitic live under favourable
conditions BUT can also exist as free living organisms.
• Accidental parasites: Parasites that infect an unusual host.
• Aberrant parasites: Parasites that infect a host in which they cannot live or
develop further. AKA wondering parasites
Hosts
• Definitive host: The host in which the parasite undergo sexual reproduction
• Intermediate host: The host in which larval or asexual reproduction are found.
Some protozoan parasites require two different hosts to complete their life
cycle
• Paratenic host: A host in which the larval stage survives but does ot develop
further.
• Reservoir host: A host that harbours the parasite and act as an important
source of infection to other susceptible hosts.
Zoonosis
• An infection confined primarily to animals BUT can be transmitted to humans
directly or indirectly via vectors.
Eg..Leishmaniasis, Hydatid disease, Schistosomiasis etc
Vector
• An agent that transmits the infection from one person to another
• Vectors can be either biological or mechanical
• Parasites multiply in the biological vector but not in the mechanical vectors.
• The tsetse fly is a biological vector of T.brucei while the house fly act as
mechanical vector in amoebiasis. House fly can transfer cysts of Entamoeba
histolytica from infected faeces to food. Humans acquire amoebiasis from such
contaminated food.
Host-parasite relationship
• An association which forms between the host and the parasite may be divided
into the following types:
• Symbiosis: Where both the host and the parasite are so dependent onto each
other that one cannot live without the help of the other. None of them suffers
any harm from the association.
• Commensalism: Where only the parasite is deriving benefits from the host
without causing any injury to the host. A commensal is capable of living an
independent life.
• Parasitism: Where the parasites derives benefits from the host BUT the host
get nothing in return and always suffers some injury. This parasites cannot live
an independent life.
Sources of infection
• Contaminated soil and water: Eggs of some parasites undergo development in
the soil so that they acquire infectivity for human beings. Soil and water
polluted with human excreta act as a source of infection.
• Raw or undercooked flesh:
BeefTaenia Saginata larva
PorkTaenia Solium larva
• Fish: Fish may constitute the source of infection for Diphyllobothrium latum
and Clonorchis Sinensis.
• Crab and crayfishes: These may constitute the source of paragonimus
westermani infection.
• Cyclops: May be infected with the larval form of Dracunculus medinensis
ingested with water leading to infection.
• Watercress: Infective forms of parasites may come out of intermediate hosts
and encyst in equatic plants which may be eaten as food by humans..eg
fasciola hepatica and fasciola buski.
• Blood-sucking insects: These can be infected with parasites and introduce the
parasites directly into the blood stream or into the skin when obtaining the
blood meal.
Portal of entry
• Mouth: Parasites enter orally through contaminated food, water, soiled fingers
of fomites. This mode of transmission is faeco-oral route. Most intestinal
parasites are transmitted in this manner.
• Skin: Parasite entry can also be either by direct penetration of larval forms
through unbroken skin or by introduction of the parasites through blood-
sucking arthropods which puncture the skin to feed. Nematodes penetrate the
unbroken of individual walkin baefoot I faecally contaminated soil.
Portal of entry
• Sexual contact: Trichomonas vaginalis is transmitted via sexual contact.
• Congenital: Infection of Toxoplasma gondii can be transmitted from mother to
foetus transplacentally.
Life cycle of human parasites
Human parasites with life cycle requiring a single host
Parasites (Protozoa) Definitive host
Entamoeba histolytica--------------------- Human beings
Giardia lamblia-------------------------------Human beings
Balantidia coli-------------------------------- Pigs and human beings
Trichomonas vaginalis----------------------Human beings
Pathogenicity
There are different ways in which damage may be produced, these are:
• Rouma: such as peforation of the intestinal walls
• Lytic necrosis: causes necrosis of the parasitised host cells
• Allergic manifestattions: due normal secretion and excretion of the growing
larva and products liberated from the dead parasites.
• Inflamatory reactions: Most parasites provoke cellular proliferation and
inflamation at the site of their location.
• Neoplasia: Parasitic infection may contribute the development of neoplasia.
Immunity in parasitic infections
• The protective immune response to parasitic infections include both Cell
mediated immunity and humoral immunity.
• The important antibody to appear is IgM in acute infection.
• IgG are mostly the most abundant
• High titre of IgE are present in Helminthic infections and ectoprasites.
• Most parasitic infections show concomitant immunity AKA premunition
immunity or infection immunity.
Laboratory diagnosis
Depends on:
• Direct demonstration of parasites
• Serological tests
• Skin tests
• Molecular method
Specimens
• Stool
• Blood
• Urine
• Genital specimen
• Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)
• Sputum
• Tissues and aspirates
Direct demonstration of parasite
Stool examination: Vital for diagnosis of intestinal parasites

• Stool may be examined by wet mount or normal saline and lugol`s iodine.
• Ova, cysts and trophozoites can demonstrated
• In helminthic infections, ova, larva and adult worms can be demonstrated.
• Ziehl-Neelsen(ZN) staining can be used for demonstration of Isospora belli
• NB: Direct demonstration of the parasites in the stool confirms the diagnosis.
• Perianal swab may also be used for E.Vermicularis.
• It’s the gold standard in diagnosis of intestinal parasitic infections.
Blood examination: Important in diagnostic of parasites that circulate in the
blood stream. Eg plasmodium, leishmania donovani etc
• The blood films are stained and examined for different stages of the parasites.
Urine examination: Eggs of Trichomonas.v and W.bancrofti.
Genital specimen examination: Trophozoites of Tricomonas.V may also be
detected in vaginal and urethral discharges.
CSF examination: Trophozoites of N.fowleri and Acanthamoeba sp may be
demonstrated in CSF.
Sputum examination: Ova of paragonimus westrmani can be detected in
sputum. Rarely, larva of Ascaris.L and Ancylostoma .D too.
Tissues and aspirates examination: Amastigote form of Leishmania donovani
can be demonstrated inside Reticuloendothelial cells in the splenic aspirates,
bone marrow, liver and lymph nodes.
• Larvae of Trichinella spiralis and Taenia solium may be demonstrated in the
muscle biopsy.
Culture
• Some parasites can be cultured in the laboratory BUT not routinely.
• Eg E.Histolytica, Giardia lamblia and Leishmania sp.
Animal innoculation
• Useful in detecting Toxoplasma gondii and Babesia.
Serological tests
• Can detect antibodies or antigens in the patients` serum.
• Making use of ELIZA, IHA,IFA, CFT etc.
Skin tests
• Performed by intradermal injection of parasitic antigens…eg Casoni
test.
Molecular methods
• Polymerase chain reaction(PCR) is used to detect genetic materials in
specimen by use of DNA probes  to detect parasitic infection.
• Probes are available for diagnosis for:
• Plasmodium falsiparum
• Wuchereria bancrofti
• Trypanosoma infectiions
Prevention and control
• Reduction in sources
• Education
• Destruction and/control of reservoir host and vector.
Treatment of parasitic infections
• Medical and surgical
• Chemotherapy
• Adequate nutrition

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APPLIED PARASITOLOGY

Stool examination: Vital for diagnosis of intestinal parasites

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