Parasitic illnesses produced by organisms traditionally placed in the order Protozoa are known as Protozoan Infections. It causes diseases in many things, including plants, animals, and even marine life. Many of the most common and severe human illnesses are caused by protozoan infections.
What is Protozoa?
- Protozoa are single-celled organisms in a broad range of sizes and shapes, from the shape-changing amoeba to the complex structure of the paramecium. They live in various wet conditions, including freshwater, marine environments, and soil.
- Some are parasitic, which means they feed on other plants and animals, including humans, and transmit disease. These diseases are known as protozoan diseases. Let us discuss their characteristic along with an example of the diseases caused by them.
Characteristics of Protozoa:
- Shape & Size: Protozoa vary in size and shape from tiny (1m) to large enough to be seen with the naked eye.
- Cellular structure: For cellular networks, they have a unicellular eukaryotic cell. A variety of specialized inner designs carry out metabolic functions.
- Nutrition: Protozoa are heterotrophic organisms that depend on holozoic feeding for survival. Phagocytosis is the process through which they ingest food.
- Life Cycle: The bulk of protozoa’s life cycle alternates between the cyst and vegetative stages, such as trophozoites.
Example:
Mosquitoes, for example, spread plasmodium, the causative agent of malaria. Entamoeba, Giardia lamblia, and sleeping sickness are further examples of parasites.
Some of The Major Protozoan Diseases:
1. Trypanosomiasis
Trypanosomiasis comes in African and American strains. In tropical Africa, African trypanosomiasis, sometimes known as “sleeping sickness,” is a deadly disease caused by two closely related Trypanosoma species, T.Gambiense and T.Rhodesiense.
2. Toxoplasmosis
Toxoplasmosis is caused by the spore-forming protozoan Toxoplasma gondii. It is mobile and capable of gliding and rotatory movement despite the absence of flagella. Infections may be transferred to humans by dogs, cats, lambs, and other animals. This illness manifests in adults as eruptive lesions covering the whole body save the palms, soles, and scalp.
3. Malaria
- Plasmodium spp., spore-forming protozoa, causes malarial infection. It is characterized by recurrent fever episodes and is frequent in tropical and subtropical settings.
- Human liver and red blood cells get infected by pathogens (RBCs). Plasmodium reproduces inside human RBCs during a malarial infection and regularly releases many protozoans. The parasite produces a toxin called hemozoin, which causes malarial fever. The female anopheles mosquito spreads the illness.
4. Balantidiasis
Balantidium coli, a ciliate, causes this sickness. The pathogen is found in the gut and produces colon lesions, including blood and mucus in the stool. Death occurs in one-third of all events. Pigs carry the sickness with the parasite in their digestive tracts.
5. Blastocystosis
Blastocystis hominis, a water-borne protozoan, causes the sickness. Although the transmission route is uncertain, the number of affected persons rises in places lacking hygiene and sanitation. Blastocystosis is generally asymptomatic, and it may strike at any time.
6. Diarrhoea
- Giardia intestinalis (a flagellate protozoan) diarrhea is characterized by loose feces. The virus feeds on amino acids and vitamins in meals and dwells in the colon. It causes digestive issues such as epigastric pain, stomach discomfort, lack of appetite, and headache.
- Cysts spread the illness in the feces, which enter the human body via contaminated food or drink, and houseflies pollute food and water. These types of human diseases are more common in children.
7. Amoebiasis
- Amoebiasis, also known as amoebic dysentery, is caused by Entamoeba histolytica, identified by F. Loesch in 1875. The illness is prevalent in the Middle East, India, China, North and Central Africa, Indonesia, and South America, among other regions. It often occurs when sanitation is poor.
- In the small intestine, ulcers eventually burst and leak blood, mucus, and trophozoites.
8. Babesiosis
The disease is caused by the parasite Babesia microtia, which affects red blood cells. An infected Ixodes scapularis tick bite spreads the protozoan. When the tick is in its nymph stage, transmission frequently occurs.
Conclusion:
Protozoa are creatures with a single cell. They vary in size and form, from the shape-changing amoeba to the paramecium’s sophisticated structure. Protozoan infections are responsible for several of the most severe and prevalent human illnesses.