Links:
A brief introduction to medical microbiology
Medical Microbiology
- A Brief Introduction
Protozoal Disease
Many protozoa are free living, but others cause serious infections. Protozoa can infect any human tissue, and are the cause of a variety of diseases. They include intracellular and extracellular parasites. They spread using a variety of strategies. Some produce cysts to survive outside the body, others are spread by insects, and yet others spread during human sexual contact.
Infections caused by protozoa include, for example, toxoplasmosis, amoebic meningitis, malaria, trypanosmiasis, leishmaniasis (Kala-Azar) and amoebic dysentery as well as diarrhoea caused by Cryptosporidium spp. or Giardia intestinalis (lamblia), the cause of a fatty, foul-smelling diarrhoea. Chronic, persistent diarrhoea caused by cryptosporidia is associated with the onset of AIDS. Vaginal infections may be caused by Trichomonas vaginalis. This protozoan causes a foul-smelling vaginal discharge. Men can be asymptomatic carriers, although this protozoan can cause balanitis - inflammation of the penis.
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