Toxoplasmosis is an infection caused by the obligate intracellular parasite known as Toxoplasma gondii.1 It is estimated to be the leading cause of food-related deaths in the United States and it infects up to a third of the worldwide population. Incidence is highest in areas that are hot, humid and at a low elevation, all of which are characteristic of the southwestern US where the case patient, S.C., is from. 2,3 Cats are the common culprit as they become definitive hosts of the parasite after
Taxoplasma gondii is a single-celled protozoan parasite. The microbe was discovered in a North African rodent, Ctenodactylus gondii, in 1908 by Charles Nicolle, Louis Manceaux, and Alfonso Splendor. The organism was named Toxoplasma because of its crescent shape (the Greek word "toxon", meaning an arc or bow and the Greek word “plasma”, meaning form) and gondii after its rodent host. This parasite can be found worldwide in artic, desert, and tropical climates. It has been noted that approximately
Cryptosporidium infection is an illness caused by tiny cryptosporidium parasites. When the body is infected by these parasites they travel to the intestines. The main symptom of this infection is watery diarrhea. Other symptoms include abdominal cramps, fever, nausea, vomiting, dehydration, headache and loss of appetite. In immune-competent people, it is a self-limited illness and could last about week or two while with immune-compromised people, the infection can be life threating and fatal. In
Page 1 of 6 Life Cycle of Malaria Page 2 of 6 Malaria is an ancient disease transmitted by the Anopheles mosquito that predates recorded history. Historically it was common in the swampy areas around Rome, and was believed that the tainted air in those locations made people very sick, the disease was therefore named malaria for the Latin root words bad air. Malaria is caused by small parasitic protozoa of the genus Plasmodium which infects both humans and mosquitoes in a cyclical process
Protists are members of Protista, one of the five main kingdoms of organisms. They are eukaryotic, multicellular and unicellular creatures that are either microscopic or very large in size, and are found in moist and marine environments. Being mostly micro in size, 5 micrometers to 2 to 3 millimeters is the prevalent size for protists. Despite not being categorized in any other animal kingdoms due to their complex structures and heavy diversity, they still are very much like fungi, animals and plants
Inhibiting Toxoplasmosis in humans by eliminating foodborne transmission through improved production practices, cat and rodent control Infections from Toxoplasma gondii are found in many human beings and animals used as a food source. All mammals and birds that are eaten by humans can function as intermediate hosts for T. gondii and therefore could potentially be the area of infection for humans. Many of the major sources of foodborne transmission to humans come from undercooked meat, mainly pork
Introduction The parasitic organisms of the Plasmodium genus cause the life threatening disease known as Malaria. Malaria is a mosquito transmitted disease that has ravaged human kind for millennia. It is a disease that has once spread to every part of the world and even now is ubiquitous in certain regions. Malaria has managed to shape the natural selection of the human species and continues to affect the progression of many nations. It has hampered the economic and social growth of countries where