Parasitic Disease

What is Parasitic Disease? What causes Parasitic Disease?

A parasitic disease is an infectious disease caused or transmitted by a parasite. Many parasites do not cause diseases. Parasitic diseases can affect practically all living organisms, including plants and mammals. The study of parasitic diseases is called parasitology.

Some parasites like Toxoplasma gondii and Plasmodium spp. can cause disease directly, but other organisms can cause disease by the toxins that they produce.

Parasites are living things that use other living things - like our body - for food and a place to live. You can get them from contaminated food or water, a bug bite, or sexual contact. Some parasitic diseases are easily treated and some are not. Parasites range in size from tiny, one-celled organisms called protozoa to worms that can be seen with the naked eye. Some parasitic diseases occur in the United States. Contaminated water supplies can lead to Giardia infections. Cats can transmit toxoplasmosis, which is dangerous for pregnant women. Others, like malaria, are common in other parts of the world. If you are traveling, it's important to drink only water you know is safe. Prevention is especially important. There are no vaccines for parasitic diseases. Some medicines are available to treat parasitic infections.

Hook- Worm

Although organisms such as bacteria function as parasites, the usage of the term "parasitic disease" is usually more restricted. The three main types of organisms causing these conditions are protozoa (causing protozoan infection), helminths (helminthiasis), and ectoparasites. Protozoa and helminths are usually endoparasites (usually living inside the body of the host), while ectoparasites usually live on the surface of the host. Occasionally the definition of "parasitic disease" is restricted to diseases due to endoparasites.

Signs and Symptoms of Parasitic Disease

Symptoms of parasites may not always be clear. However, such symptoms may imitate anemia or a hormone deficiency. Some of the symptoms caused by several worm infestations can include itching affecting the anus or the vaginal area, abdominal pain, weight loss, increased appetite, bowel obstructions, diarrhea, and vomiting eventually leading to dehydration, sleeping problems, worms present in the vomit or stools, anemia, aching muscles or joints, general malaise, allergies, fatigue, nervousness. Symptoms may also be confused with pneumonia or food poisoning.

The effects caused by parasitic diseases range from mild discomfort to death. The nematode parasites Necator americanus and Ancylostoma duodenale cause human hookworm infection, which leads to anaemia and protein malnutrition. This infection affects approximately 740 million people in the developing countries, including children and adults, of the tropics specifically in poor rural areas located in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, South-East Asia and China. Chronic hookworm in children leads to impaired physical and intellectual development, school performance and attendance are reduced. Pregnant women affected by a hookworm infection can also develop anemia, which results in negative outcomes both for the mother and the infant. Some of them are: low birth weight, impaired milk production, as well as increased risk of death for the mother and the baby.

Causes of Parasitic Disease

Mammals can get parasites from contaminated food or water, bug bites, or sexual contact. Ingestion of contaminated water can produce Giardia infections.

Parasites normally enter the body through the skin or mouth. Close contact with pets can lead to parasite infestation as dogs and cats are host to many parasites.

Other risks that can lead people to acquire parasites are walking bare feet, inadequate disposal of faces, lack of hygiene, and close contact with someone carrying specific parasites, and eating under cooked or exotic foods.

Parasites can also be transferred to their host by the bite of an insect vector, i.e. mosquito, bed bug.

Treatment of Disease

Albendazole and mebendazole have been the treatments administered to entire populations to control hookworm infection. However, it is a costly option and both children and adults become reinfected within a few months after deparasitation occurs raising concerns because the treatment has to repeatedly be administered and drug resistance may occur.

Another medication administered to kill worm infections has been pyrantel pamoate. For some parasitic diseases, there is no treatment and, in the case of serious symptoms, medication intended to kill the parasite is administered, whereas, in other cases, symptom relief options are used. Recent papers have also proposed the use of viruses to treat infections caused by protozoa.

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