Parasites Causes for Infectious Disease, Intestinal and Gastrointestinal Infections

A parasite lives on or in another organism, where it obtains its nourishment. In some cases, some causing detrimental intestinal infections or infectious diseases to its human host.

In humans, there are three main disease causing parasite categories:

  • protozoa
  • helminths
  • ectoparasites

Protozoa are single-celled free-living or parasitic organism, with an ability to multiply in humans. This capacity not only contributes to their survival, but it takes only one to cause a very serious infection.

Intestinal living protozoa are typically transmitted via consumption of fecal matter, by way of contaminated food/water or personal contact. Those living in your blood/tissue are commonly transmitted by way of a bite, i.e. mosquito, sand fly, etc.

Helminths, or worms, are multicellular free-living or parasitic organisms, which are generally large enough to be seen. In their adult form, they cannot multiply in humans. The three main human parasite worm groups include:

  • flatworms ~ flukes and tapeworms
  • thorny-headed worms ~ adult forms reside in your gastrointestinal tract
  • roundworms ~ adult forms can reside in your gastrointestinal tract (pinworms), blood, lymphatic system or subcutaneous tissues, while in their immature state can body tissue infections

Segmented worms, like leeches, are sometimes consider in this helminths group.

Ectoparasites burrow into your skin and can remain there for relatively long periods of time, in some cases months. These parasites include;

Blood-sucking arthropods, such as mosquitoes, may broadly be included. Arthropods can cause diseases on their own, but more importantly, they are carriers transmitting numerous disease causing pathogens.

These carried pathogens cause the highest proportion of infectious diseases, in some cases resulting in death, like:

Parasitic infections cause a tremendous disease burden. On a global scale, malaria causes the most deaths, killing about a million people every year. Many of them young children in sub-Saharan Africa.

The notable common parasitic infection in the U.S. is trichomonas, a sexually transmitted disease. Some other U.S. parasite causing infections include giardia, cryptosporidium and toxoplasmosis.

The health of your immune system plays a key role in fighting off some of these parasites. So keep it solidly on guard through a healthy diet and regular exercise.

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