Flagellates

General characteristics
Whiplike locomotor apparatus
Sucking disc
Axostyle
Undulating membrane
Rudimentary mouth called cytosome
 Giardia lamblia
Inhabits the small intestine
Trophozoite
 Pear or tear drop shaped
 Prominent ovoid sucking disc
 4 pair of flagella
 Large karyosome
 Suported by axostyle
 Jerky falling leaf movement
Cyst
 2-4 nuclei
 Pathology
Inflammation of the G.I. tract
Results to secretions of abundant mucus
Weaknes, chills, low grade fever,nausea,
anorexia
Passage of foul smelling stool
Steatorrhea
 Diagnosis and treatment
DFS
ELISA
Furazolidone
 Chilomastix mesnili
Large intestine
Trophozoite
 Pear shaped
 With distinct karyosome
 3 anterior flagella
 Stiff rotary or cork screw movement
Cyst
 Lemon shaped
 With protuberance ( nipple shaped cyst )
Trichomonas
 General characteristics
Only trophic stage
Round anterior pointed posterior
Rigid axostyle extending from the mid of
the body
3-6 anterior flagella
With undulating membrane
 Trichomonas vaginalis
Pyriform with cytosome
Prominent axostyle
Largest
Presence of siderophil granules on
cytoplasm
Inflammation of vaginal wall with petechial
hemorrhage
Desquamation of vaginal eithelial cell
Greenish yellow secretion
Intense vaginal itchiness ad burning
sensation
Urethritis, vaginitis, prostatis
Geimsa’s or Pap’s
Oral metronidazole
 Trichomonas tenax
Inhabits the oral cavity
4 flagella
Undulating membrane which does not
reach the posterior end of the body
Single nucleus and cytosome
Oral contact
Dishes, glasses
 Trichomonas hominis
Caecum
5 anterior flagella
Posterior flagellum from undulating
membrane
Axostyle extends from anterior to posterior
end along the mid axis
Oral ingestion
Blood and tissue
flagellates
 Stages of development
Amastigote or leishmania
 Ovoidal without free flagellum
Promastigote or leptomonas
 Spindle shaped
 With flagellum
Epimastigote or crithidia
Trypomastigote or trypanosoma
Trypanosomes
 Trypanosoma brucei
Trypanosoma brucei gambiense
 West African sleeping sickness
 Tse tse flies
Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense
 East African sleeping sickness
 Tse tse flies
Epimastigote in invertebrates
Trypomastigote in mammals
Enters circulation and lymphatic system
Invades CNS
Irregular fever, headache, hyperactive
Mental retardation and altered reflexes
Pentamidine, suramin
 Trypanosoma cruzi
American typanosomiasis
Chaga’s disease
Reduviid bug ( kissing or assasin bug )
Chagoma – painful nodule at the site of
inoculation
Muscle fiber of the heart, smooth muscle of
the G.I. tract causing enlargement and
ANS nerve ganglia
Nifurtimox, benzuldazole
 Leishmania
Leishmania tropica
 Oriental sore/old world leishmaniasis
 Phlebotomous fly ( sand fly )
Leishmania braziliense
 Chiclero’s ulcer
 Espundla mucocutaneous leishmaniasis
Leishmania donovani
 Kala azar or visceral leishmaniasis
 Phlebotomous fly ( sand fly )
 Pathology
Ulceration of the skin leaving ugly scar
Resembles lepromatous leprosy
Metastatic ulceration of oropharynx,
pharyngeal mucosa—leprosy like tissue
destruction and swelling ( tapir nose )
Fever, malaise, weight and appetite loss
Ski darkening, splenomegaly,
hepatomegaly and lymphadenopathy
Stain with Wright’s or Giemsa’s
Culture with Nicole, Novy and Mc Neal
Sodium atiboglucolate and N- methyl
glucamine antimonate
Amphotericin, metronidazole, nifortimox,
pentamidine ( for kala- azar )
 Balantidium coli
Largest intestinal protozoa
Trophozoite
 Covered with spiral longitudinal row of cilia
 Kidney shaped macronucleus and small spherical
micronucleus
 Directional rolling movement
Cyst
 With thick cell wall
 Macronucleous and contractile vacuoles are found in
the cytolasm
Infection through ingestion of cyst
Excystation in the small intestine and
become trophozoites
With cytolytic enzyme hyaluronidase
Ulceration with numerous parasites on the
base of the ulcer
Secondary bacterial infection
Balantidiasis dysentery similar to amoebiasis
Diagnosis- stool examination
Tetracycline/metronidazole
 Toxoplasma gondii
Asexual multiplication in man
Obligate intracellular parasite
Pyriform in shape
AKA tachyzoites
Accumulation of tachyzoites leads to the
formation of cyst
Cats are the definitive host