"Protozoan infections are parasitic diseases caused by organisms formerly classified in the kingdom Protozoa."
Single-celled parasites that cause a wide range of human and animal diseases, including malaria, trypanosomiasis, and toxoplasmosis. Covers morphology, life cycles, epidemiology, and treatment.
Protozoan taxonomy: The classification of protozoa into groups based on their characteristics and features.
Morphology: The physical appearance and structure of protozoan parasites, including their size, shape, and external features.
Life cycle and host-parasite relationships: The various stages and pathways of protozoan parasites’ life cycles, and the interactions between parasites and their hosts.
Transmission and epidemiology: The modes of transmission of protozoan parasites, and the distribution and prevalence of infections in populations.
Pathogenesis and clinical manifestations: The mechanisms by which protozoan parasites cause disease in their hosts, and the signs and symptoms that may be observed.
Diagnosis and laboratory methods: The techniques and procedures used to identify and confirm the presence of protozoan parasites in clinical samples.
Treatment and control: The drugs and interventions used to treat and manage protozoan parasite infections, and the strategies for preventing and controlling their spread.
Resistance and drug development: The mechanisms of resistance to antiprotozoal drugs, and the research and development of new therapeutic agents.
Host immunity: The immune responses of hosts to protozoan parasites, and the interactions between parasites and the host’s immune system.
Zoonotic protozoan parasites: The protozoan parasites that can infect both human and animal hosts, and the risks and implications of such infections.
Entamoeba histolytica: A species of amoeba that causes amoebiasis, an intestinal disease that can spread to other organs.
Giardia lamblia: A flagellated protozoan that causes giardiasis, an intestinal disease.
Cryptosporidium spp.: A genus of Apicomplexa parasites that can cause cryptosporidiosis, a diarrheal disease.
Toxoplasma gondii: An Apicomplexa parasite that can cause toxoplasmosis, a disease that can affect the brain and other organs.
Plasmodium spp.: A genus of Apicomplexa parasites that cause malaria, a disease that affects the red blood cells and can be fatal.
Trypanosoma spp.: A genus of flagellated protozoa that cause African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness) and Chagas disease, both of which are transmitted by insects.
Leishmania spp.: A genus of flagellated protozoa that cause leishmaniasis, a disease that affects the skin, mucous membranes, and internal organs.
Balantidium coli: A ciliate protozoan that can cause balantidiasis, an intestinal disease.
Naegleria fowleri: An amoeba that can cause primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), a rare but often fatal disease that affects the brain.
Acanthamoeba spp.: A genus of amoebae that can cause Acanthamoeba keratitis, a rare but serious eye infection, and granulomatous amoebic encephalitis (GAE), a rare but often fatal disease that affects the brain.
Blastocystis spp.: A genus of anaerobic parasitic Protozoa that can cause bloating, diarrhea or both.
Halofomonas spp.: A phototrophic bacteria which can metamorphose into different forms and cause disease.
"They are usually contracted by either an insect vector or by contact with an infected substance or surface."
"Many of the most prevalent and deadly human diseases are caused by a protozoan infection, including African sleeping sickness, amoebic dysentery, and malaria."
"Within the taxonomic classification, the four protist supergroups (Amoebozoa, Excavata, SAR, and Archaeplastida) fall under the domain Eukarya."
"Protists are polyphyletic, a collection of organisms, and they are unicellular, which means that they lack the level of tissue organization which is present in more complex eukaryotes."
"Protozoa have three different ways of acquiring nutrients: saprotrophic nutrition, osmotrophic nutrition, and holozoic nutrition."
"These protists include strict aerobes and use photosystems I and II in order to carry out photosynthesis which produces oxygen."
"All cells have a plasma membrane, which is also known as the plasmalemma in protists. It provides the cell with support and protection."
"Protists contain two types of vacuoles: contractile vacuoles help to maintain osmoregulation, and phagocytic vacuoles allow select protists to ingest food."
"In some protists, flagella or cilia may be present to help with motility and nutrient intake. The flagella or cilia create water currents that assist in feeding and respiration."
"Aerobic chemoorganotrophic protists produce energy through the use of their mitochondria. Photosynthetic protists produce energy through the use of their mitochondria and chloroplasts. Anaerobic chemoorganotrophs produce energy through the use of hydrogenosomes."
"Encystment is when a protist becomes a dormant cyst with a cell wall. It protects the protist from environmental changes, allows for nuclear reorganization and cell division, and can act as a host cell for parasitic species."
"Excystment is when a cyst returns to its original state due to favorable conditions. In parasitic protists, excystment may occur when the cyst is ingested by a new host."
"If the protists reproduce asexually, they do so through binary fission, multiple fission, budding, and fragmentation."
"If the protists reproduce sexually, they do so through a syngamy process where there is a fusion of gametes. Autogamy occurs within an individual, while conjugation occurs between individuals."
"Protists are polyphyletic, derived from more than one common evolutionary ancestor or ancestral group, and therefore not suitable for placing in the same taxon."
"In saprotrophic nutrition, nutrients are obtained from dead organic matter through enzymatic degradation."
"Aerobic chemoorganotrophic protists produce energy through the use of their mitochondria, which generate energy for the protist's cellular life functions."
"The pellicle structure in protists is a thin layer of protein that helps provide the cell with support and protection."
"Contractile vacuoles in protists help to maintain osmoregulation."