Intestinal Parasites
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Gut protozoan parasites include Entamoeba histolytica, Giardia lamblia, Dientamoeba fragilis, Balantidium sp., Isospora sp. and Cryptosporidium parvum. All these organisms are transmitted by the faecal–oral route and most of them are cosmopolitan in their distribution.
INTESTINAL PARASITES
Gut protozoan parasites
include Entamoeba histolytica, Giardia lamblia, Dientamoeba fragilis,
Balantidium sp., Isospora sp. and Cryptosporidium parvum. All these organisms are transmitted by the faecal–oral
route and most of them are cosmopolitan in their distribution. A good example
of this is Giardia , which is found
in nearly all countries of the world. In many developed countries, including
the UK and USA, it is one of the most commonly identified waterborne infectious
organisms. Cryptosporidium, like Toxoplasma, has a complex life cycle utilizing both sexual and asexual
reproduction. In contrast, Giardia
and Entamoeba have simple life cycles
utilizing only asexual reproduction. These latter organisms are members of a
small group of eukaryotes that do not have mitochondria. It had long been
assumed that they never had mitochondria, but recent studies showing the
presence of mitochondrial like enzymes and structural proteins suggest that it
is more likely that this organelle was lost as a result of
metabolic/physiological adaptation.
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