parasitic disease
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- Related Topics:
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parasitic disease, in humans, any illness that is caused by a parasite, an organism that lives in or on another organism (known as the host). Parasites typically benefit from such relationships, often at the expense of the host organisms. Parasites of humans include protozoans, helminths, and ectoparasites (organisms that live on the external surface of a host). They are responsible for many diseases and are transmitted to their hosts most often through the ingestion of contaminated food or water or through the bite of an arthropod (e.g., a fly or tick), which can act as an intermediate host and as a vector. (For information on parasitic diseases in animals, see animal disease: Survey of animal diseases. For information on parasitic diseases in plants, see plant disease: Classification of plant diseases by causal agent.)
Disease-causing parasites have long affected human populations. Calcified helminth eggs, for example, have been recovered from Egyptian mummies dated to about 1200 bce, and written records indicate that ancient Greek and Roman physicians treated patients with various nematode infections, including tapeworm. From the 17th to the 20th centuries, with the discovery and classification of numerous parasites, came the realization of the global burden of parasites. Indeed, more than 3 billion people worldwide are infected by intestinal parasites or protozoans, and parasitic diseases are among the leading causes of deaths in humans globally. Epidemiological studies indicate that multiple factors influence a person’s risk of infection and the spread of parasitic disease, including parasite pathogenicity, host health, environment, and social conditions.
Major disease-causing parasites
Of the several hundred known species of parasites, only a small fraction are capable of causing disease in humans. Among them are the protozoans Entamoeba histolytica, which causes amebic dysentery and is acquired through the ingestion of food or water that has been contaminated by the feces of a human carrier of the infective organism, and the flagellated protozoans Trypanosoma brucei gambiense and T. brucei rhodesiense, which causes sleeping sickness (African trypanosomiasis) and is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected tsetse flies. Leishmania protozoans are transmitted to humans by sand flies and infect macrophages (a type of white blood cell) that attempt to engulf and digest the foreign pathogen. Eventually, the macrophages and immune defenses become overwhelmed, resulting in leishmaniasis. Leishmaniasis is a debilitating and fatal disease; epidemics have occurred in India, China, Africa, and Brazil.
The first descriptions of malarial disease date to ancient Chinese and Greek civilizations; however, the actual cause of malaria, protozoans of the genus Plasmodium, was not discovered until 1880. The following decade, it was found that humans could become infected with Plasmodium through the bite of an infected mosquito. Once in the bloodstream, Plasmodium travels to the liver, where it infects and replicates within cells. The burden of organisms within a single cell eventually causes the cell to burst, releasing the parasites. The parasites then infect red blood cells, where they replicate rapidly, causing the cells to rupture and release daughter parasites. Daughter parasites continue the infection cycle in red blood cells, resulting in a large quantity of Plasmodium organisms in the body and giving rise to symptoms characteristic of malaria, including intermittent fever.
Helminths include nematodes (roundworms), which are responsible for filariasis, and flatworms, such as flukes and tapeworms. Filariasis can be caused by any of several different species of helminth nematodes. The filarial nematode Wuchereria bancrofti is transmitted to humans by arthropods and is commonly found in Africa, the Middle East, Mexico, and Brazil. Humans and mosquitoes are the only suitable hosts in which Wucheria is able to complete its life cycle. Once injected into the bloodstream, the immature worms make their way into a lymph duct and mature into adults, which may take 6 to 12 months; adults worms are about 7.5 to 10 cm (3 to 4 inches) in length. Multiple adult females exist in streams of clusters within a lymph duct, where they reproduce, shedding thousands of microfilia each day. They sometimes remain in the lymph duct for 5 to 10 years. The accumulation of microfilia in the lymph ducts blocks the flow of lymphatic fluid, causing swelling in affected body parts. Microfilia eventually migrate into the bloodstream and are drawn into the proboscis of a mosquito when it bites the host. In general, the immune system is able to defend against and kill the majority of microfilia, resulting in minor illness.
Flatworms, such as the tapeworm, can cause infection and disease in humans. The tapeworm species Diphyllobothrium latum or one of several different species in the genus Taenia, in addition to several other genera, can be infectious. Tapeworms are highly specialized worms that attach themselves to the lining of the human intestinal wall using hooks that keep them firmly in place. In other instances, they may burrow into tissues such as muscle, the spinal cord, or the brain. Adult tapeworms tend to stay within their host as long as possible, with just one adult tapeworm per host growing and reproducing continuously, shedding eggs that are excreted in the feces. Juvenile tapeworms pose the greatest health risks to humans because of their tendency to burrow through the intestinal wall, migrating to internal organs where they interfere with normal tissue function. Infection with adult tapeworms may be asymptomatic; sometimes abdominal pain or diarrhea occurs but is not immediately known to be the result of a tapeworm infection. Infection with juvenile tapeworms can cause cysticercosis, typified by the formation of cysts under the skin, inflammation, mental disorientation, and seizures.
Ectoparasites include primarily fleas, lice, mites, and ticks. Fleas, lice, and ticks are blood-sucking organisms that attach to the skin. Mites tend to burrow into the layers of the skin, where they can cause itching and irritation, and they sometimes live in deeper tissues, such as the nasal passages or lungs. Ectoparasites can both cause disease and transmit other disease-causing organisms to humans. Such organisms include the bacteria responsible for Lyme disease, plague, and rabies.