INTRODUCTION

TO
PARASITOLOGY
Parasitology
= area of biology concerned with the phenomena
of dependence of one living organism on another.

MEDICAL PARASITOLOGY

= is concerned primarily with the animal parasites

of man and their medical significance, as well as
their importance in human communities.
 3 components involve in the study:

Parasite
= organism that lives on or within the body of
another organism from whose tissues it gets its
nourishment for survival and to whom it does
some damage
= usually cannot exist as free-living
= dependent on the host for existence

Host
= are organisms where the parasite derive or
depends
their sustenance or nourishment
= larger than a parasite
Environment
= habitat of the parasite where they live and
Types of Parasites

I. According to relationship
Obligate Parasite
= organism which are completely dependent on the
host
for existence
= needs a host at some stage of their life cycle to
complete their development and to propagate
their specie
= cannot exist without a host die
Facultative/Opportunistic Parasite
= when a parasite is capable of living even without a
host
= can exist either in a free-living state or may become
parasitic when the need arise

Amphizoic Parasite
= are freeliving parasite that can colonize and invade
 Incidental/Accidental Parasite
= parasite that establishes itself in a host in which it
does not ordinarily live

Permanent Parasite
= parasite that remains on or in the body of the
host
from early life until maturity or for its entire life
(ex. ascaris)
Spurious/Coprozoic Parasite
= are foreign specie of parasite that has passed
through the human body (GIT) without sign and
symptoms of its presence
 Hematozoic Parasite
= parasite that lives inside the red blood cell
= ex. malaria

Dioecious Parasite
= having male and female reproductive organs in
different individuals or separate sexes
= ex. ascaris

Monoecious or Hermaphroditic Parasite

= having male and female reproductive organs in
the same individual
= ex. tapeworms
 II. According to habitat

Ectoparasite
= organism that lives outside the body of
the host
= produce pathology in the external
surface of the body (ex.
lice)

Endoparasite
= parasites that lives inside the body of
the host
= invade deep and internal organs of the
body
(ex. amoeba)
III. According to pathogenicity

Pathogenic
= parasite that causes injury to the host by its
mechanical, traumatic or toxic activities

Non-pathogenic
= parasite that does not cause injury
IV. According to Type of Hosts
= classified based on their role in the life cycle of the
parasite

Definitive/Final host
= one in which the parasite reaches sexual maturity
(adult/sexual stage) and undergoes reproduction
to complete their life cycle
= the definitive host is usually a vertebrate
Example: malarial parasite reach sexual maturity
and undergo fertilization in the mosquito

Intermediate host
= one in which the parasite harbors the asexual or
larval
stage of development but does not reach sexual
maturity (immature/asexual/larval stage)
 Reservoir host
= usually an arthropod or vertebrate other than the
definitive host which harbors the parasite and
is actively transmitted to the next host thus
ensuring continuity of the parasites life cycle

Paratenic host
= one in which there is no parasite development
but
can remain alive and is able to infect other
susceptible host
= one which carries the infective stage of
parasite
Vectors
= are animate or inanimate objects that carries the
infective stage of the parasite
Types:
Mechanical/Phoretic
= one that only transmit a parasite without being a
host
= transmit Parasite to host, parasite stay in the host
but does not undergo development
= not essential to the life cycle of the parasite
Ex. mosquito , flies
Biological
= transmit the parasite only after the vector has
completed its development within the host
= serves both as a vector and a host for the
development stage of the parasite
Ex. Anopheles mosquito (malaria)
Host Parasite Relationship
Types:

Symbiosis = close association between 2 organisms

of different species (host and parasite) where
either can not exist independently

= parasite gets something from host and

vice versa
Commensalism
= association of 2 organism that lives
together
and one benefits from the relationship without
harming or benefiting the other
= parasites derives benefit from the host
Mutualism
= association between 2 organisms living together
where in both are benefited to the situation
and can exist independently if separated

Parasitism
= an association between 2 organism where one is
dependent upon another for existence
= the host is injured through the activities of the
parasite
Exposure and Infection
Types:

Autoinfection
= infection acquired by an individual resulting from
their own direct source of re-exposure

Reinfection
= when a person is infected with a parasite after
months of cure again gets reinfected
with the same specie of parasite

Superinfection/Hyperinfection
= when a host is harboring more than one parasite
at a time
Infection
= connotes the entry/invasion of the infective
agent in the host

Infestation
= present of the parasite on the host
= development and reproduction of parasite on
the surface of the body of the host

Carrier
= person who harbors a particular pathogen
without manifesting any signs and symptoms
Phases Of Parasitism

= for a parasite to establish itself in its host, it must

undergo
various phases:

I. Contact and entry to the host

= involves exposure from one or more source
1. Contaminated H2O
2. Contaminated Soil (Ex: Hookworm)
3. Food with immature infective stage of the
parasite
4. Blood sucking insects as vectors
5. Domestic or Wild Animals harboring the parasite
6. Ones self
Portal of Entry:
= site where infective agent gain entrance to the body of
host
1) Mouth - most common
a. ingestion of infective stage (Ex. Cyst /embryonated
egg)
b. intimate oral kissing (Ex. E. gingivalis /T. tenax)

2) Skin - penetration of infective stage larva to skin

a. Directly Ex: Cercaria of schistosoma
Filariform larva of hookworm
b. Indirectly = through insect vectors
Ex: Infective stage larva of trypanosoma & leishmania
3) Airborne
parasite inhaled nose nasopharynx intestine
Ex: eggs of E. vermicularis and A. lumbricoides
4) Transplacental
parasite from mother transmitted to the fetus in utero
Ex. T. gondii
II. Migration of parasite in the host to its habitat
= after its entry, it is carried or actively migrates to
a
location where it matures and produce progeny

III. Maturation and reproduction

= involves the parasite`s use of the host`s
nutrients
for growth, energy and multiplication

IV. Exit and development outside of the host for

dissemination / transmission / spread
Portal of Exit:
GIT via feces or vomitus
Kidney via urine
Circulation upon blood meal of arthropods /
insects
Nasal cavity thru sneezing or coughing
Geographical distribution of parasites

Factors that plays a role in the distribution of parasitic

diseases:
I. Endemicity of Parasite
a. presence & habits of a suitable host
b. easy escape of the parasite from host
c. environmental conditions which enhances the
survival of parasite outside the host

II. Condition that affect the spread/distribution of

parasites:
1) through irrigation projects
2) inadequate individual and community sanitation
3) low standard of living
4) ignorance
5) migration of population
impt. factor of worldwide spread of parasitic
Categories of Frequency and Distribution
of Parasitic Disease

Endemic - a disease with a low incidence but is

constantly present in a given community
Example: Malaria is endemic in central Africa

Endemicity - Is commonly associated with a certain

degree of tolerance to the pathogen

Hyperendemic - a disease w/ a high incidence

constantly present a in a given community
Epidemic - sharp rise w/ high morbidity of the
disease
which is occasionally present in the
community

Sporadic - parasitic disease that appears

occasionally in 1 or some members of a
community

Pandemic - spread of a communicable disease that

has been disseminated over extensive areas
of
Diagnosis of parasitic infection

2 methods of approach:

1) Classical diagnosis
= easy when patient lives in an endemic area
and the M.D is familiar with manifestation
of infection
= problem if disease is uncommon in the
community or with migrants in the community
= investigate where patient come from
2) Laboratory diagnosis
= purpose is to make specific diagnosis
A) collect proper specimen like stool, urine, blood,
sputum, aspirate from body orifices, tissue
scrappings
B) know how & when specimen is to be obtained
C) precautionary measures taken to have satisfactory
specimen for exam
(1) specimen bottle should be clean & sterile
(2) E. histolytica specimen should be examined
right away to see trophozoite stage of parasite
(3) Specimen collected should be examined by
skilled laboratory personnel
D) Other laboratory method used:
= Routine laboratory examination stool exam,
urinalysis, CBC, tissue scrapping
Treatment

- easy & simple if you have an accurate & specific

laboratory diagnosis
- treatment modalities: Chemotherapeutic agents
Surgical intervention

- in treating parasitic infection,

consider the ff:
A) Severity of infection
B) Duration of infection
C) Intensity & probability of reinfection
D) Efficacy of the treatment
E) Availability of the drug
F) Toxicity of the drug
Prevention & Control against
parasitic infection

1) Treat infection in order to reduce source of

exposure
2) Teaching and training individual about personal
hygiene
3) Proper waste disposal
4) Comprehensive control on vehicles of infection
5) Complete destruction of vectors and control of
reservoir hosts
Zoonosis
- disease of animals transmittable to man

Types:
Enzoonosis - parasitic infection common to man and
reservoir host Ex. Tapeworm
Parazoonosis - if man is an infrequent / accidental
host
Anthropozoonosis - infection acquired by man from other
vertebrates Ex. T. canis / T. cati
Amphixenosis - if disease is common to man and other
vertebrates
Zooanthroponosis - a human disease w/c is transmitted to
animals