Tag: protozoa: benefits and harmful effects

Trypanosoma brucei is a species of salivary trypanosome, which causes sleeping sickness in humans and nagana in animals.

Phlebotomus argentipes is a vector of visceral leishmaniasis, an important parasitic disease. The female sand-fly carries the Leishmania donovani protozoa from infected animals after feeding, thus transmitting disease. Phlebotomus is a genus of sand-flies in the Diptera family.
Thus, the correct answer is option (C), 'Leishmania donovani'.

Sickle cell trait provides a survival advantage over people with normal hemoglobin in regions where malaria is endemic. The trait is known to cause significantly fewer deaths due to malaria, especially when Plasmodium falciparum is the causative organism. Sickle trait erythrocytes produce higher levels of the superoxide anion and hydrogen peroxide than do normal erythrocytes, both are toxic to malarial parasites. The sickle cell trait was found to be 50% protective against mild clinical malaria, 75% protective against admission to the hospital for malaria, and almost 90% protective against severe or complicated malaria.
Thus, the correct answer is option (B), 'Sickle ceIl anaemia'.

Kala azar is also called as black fever or dumdum fever or visceral leishmaniasis. It is the most severe form of leishmaniasis. Leishmaniasis is a disease caused by the protozoan parasites of the Leishmania genus, especially Leishmania donovani. So, the correct answer is option C.

'Chagas disease' is also called as American trypanosomiasis. It is a tropical parasitic disease, caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi. It mostly spreads by insects, knwon as Triatominae or kissing bugs.

Trypanosoma is a genus of kinetoplastids. It is a group of unicellular parasitic flagellate protozoa. As it possesses flagella, it belongs to the class of Mastigophora. 

Sleeping sickness is a vector-borne parasitic disease. It is caused by infection with protozoan parasites belonging to the genus Trypanosoma. They are transmitted to humans by tsetse fly (Glossina genus) bites, which have acquired their infection from human beings or from animals harbouring the human pathogenic parasites. So, the correct answer is option B.

Human African trypanosomiasis is also known as sleeping sickness. It is a vector-borne parasitic disease. It is caused by infection with protozoan parasites belonging to the genus Trypanosoma gambiense. They are transmitted to humans by tsetse fly (Glossina Palpalis) bites, which have acquired their infection from human beings or from animals harboring the human pathogenic parasites. Hence, option B is correct.

Trypanosomiasis is Gambian fever. It is transmitted to man and animals by a blood sucking insect, the tsetse fly. The tsetse flies include all the species in the genus Glossina.
Glossina palpalis is a tsetse fly and is a vector for Gambian fever.
Therefore, the correct answer is option C.

Entamoeba gingivalis is a parasitic protozoan found in the mouth inside the gingival pocket biofilm near the base of the teeth and in periodontal pockets mostly in people with gum disease. Thus the correct answer is option A.