Killer Protists
Rachel Heileson Tic Tac Toe
Malaria
•The genus name for the single-celled parasite which causes malaria is Plasmodium. In the genus, there are five species which infect humans: Plasmodium falciparum (the most deadly kind), P. vivax, P. ovale, P. malariae and P. knowlesi.
-Malaria is a parasitic disease that involves high fevers, shaking chills, flu-like symptoms, and anemia which in severe cases can progress to coma or death.
-Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals.
-Disease transmission can be reduced by preventing mosquito bites by using mosquito nets and insect repellents, or with mosquito-control measures such as spraying insecticides and draining standing water
Trypanosoma; (trypanosoma brucei)
- causes African sleeping sickness.
- starts with with a fever and headaches, accompanied by vital organ dysfunction, is followed by the swelling of lymph nodes and ends with mental confusion, disruption of sleep cycle and extreme fatigue.
- It is transmitted by the tsetse fly's bite and takes over the lymphatic system.
- gradually crosses over to the blood stream and once it gets past the blood barrier of the brain, the protist kills the person it inhabits.
- All trypanosomes are heteroxenous
- Trypanosomes infect a variety of hosts and cause various diseases, including the fatal human diseases sleeping sickness, caused by Trypanosoma brucei, and Chagas disease, caused by Trypanosoma cruzi.
Entamoeba; (Entamoeba histolytica)
- causes amoebic dysentery.
- It is caused by eating/drinking food or water contaminated with these amoeba or when hands are not properly sanitized after coming in contact with something contaminated.
- travels to the intestines where it settles and forms cysts that cause symptoms like abdominal pain, fatigue and cramps.
- can lead to severe diarrhea and other digestive problems.
- Entamoeba cells are small, with a single nucleus
Giarda (Giarda lamblia)
- infectious protist that can be transmitted by coming into contact with an infected person or contaminated water
- causes giardiasis, a form of diarrhea.
-invades the small intestine and symptoms include stool, flatulence and accumulation of bad-smelling stomach gas, vomiting, abdominal cramps and bad breath.
- Their life cycle alternates between an actively swimming trophozoite and an infective, resistant cyst.
- has 40 different species names
Cited page
• "MALARIA.com." MALARIAcom. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Apr. 2014.
• "Giardia." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 30 Mar. 2014. Web. 01 Apr. 2014.
• "Entamoeba." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 30 Mar. 2014. Web. 02 Apr. 2014.
• "Human Diseases Caused by Protists?" - Ask.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Apr. 2014.
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 05 Feb. 2014. Web. 31 Mar. 2014.