Session: 18 Parasitology
Medical parasitology traditionally has included the study of three major groups of animals: parasitic protozoa, parasitic helminths (worms), and those arthropods that directly cause disease or act as vectors of various pathogens. A parasite is a pathogen that simultaneously injures and derives sustenance from its host. Some organisms called parasites are actually commensals, in that they neither benefit nor harm their host (for example, Entamoeba coli). Although parasitology had its origins in the zoologic sciences, it is today an interdisciplinary field, greatly influenced by microbiology, immunology, biochemistry, and other life sciences. Infections of humans caused by parasites number in the billions and range from relatively innocuous to fatal. The diseases caused by these parasites constitute major human health problems throughout the world. (For example, approximately 30 percent of the world's population is infected with the nematode Ascaris lumbricoides.) The incidence of many parasitic diseases (e.g., schistosomiasis, malaria) have increased rather than decreased in recent years. Other parasitic illnesses have increased in importance as a result of the AIDS epidemic (e.g., cryptosporidiosis, Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, and strongyloidiasis). The migration of parasite-infected people, including refugees, from areas with high prevalence rates of parasitic infection also has added to the health problems of certain countries. A misconception about parasitic infections is that they occur only in tropical areas. Although most parasitic infections are more prevalent in the tropics, many people in temperate and subtropical areas also become infected, and visitors to tropical countries may return with a parasite infection.
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