Question

What protists are parasitic?

Answer 1

There are many parasitic protists which cause diseases in human: from well known Plasmodium to little known Toxoplasma. Then there are parasitic protists which affect organisms other than human.

Explanation:

Parasitic protists in human:

• Plasmodium causes malaria
• Entamoeba causes bloody diarrhoea
• Giardia causes an upset stomach
• Trypanosoma causes sleeping sickness and chagas disease
• Leishmania causes kala azar/dumdum fever
• Trichominas causes inflammation of vagina
• Toxoplasma infects tissues of brain, eyes, etc.

These parasites are of diverse type: either flagellate or sporozoan or pseudopodial in nature. It is important to note that all sporozoan protists are obligatory parasites: and can affect a wide range of organisms like fishes, insects, oysters, annelid worms, etc.

Some protozoan parasites in animals are:

• Eimeria causes inflammation in gut of poultry.
• Babasia causes red water fever in cattle.