Other Parasitic Diseases (Diseases and Treatment)

Sir Ronald Ross, a doctor in British Indian Army first observed oocysts of plasmodium in the female Anopheles mosquito. He won the Nobel prize in 1902 for his work on malaria.

Ross's work in India, particularly in Secunderabad, led him to examine dissected Anopheles mosquitoes that had fed on individuals with malaria.

He observed the presence of the malarial parasite, specifically Plasmodium, in the mosquito's gut, demonstrating that the parasites were present within the insect.

This discovery not only proved the role of mosquitoes in malaria transmission but also laid the groundwork for future research and control methods.

The disease spreads from person to person by female Culex mosquito. Edema is one of the most common symptoms of filariasis and can lead to elephantiasis, which is characterized by thickened skin and massive swelling.

It is spread by the bite of an infected tsetse fly (genus Glossina), a species native to the African continent. The tsetse fly bite erupts into a red sore and within a few weeks, the person can experience fever, swollen lymph glands, aching muscles and joints, headaches, and irritability.

Mosquito-borne diseases are those spread by the bite of an infected mosquito. Diseases that are spread to people by mosquitoes include Zika virus, West Nile virus, Chikungunya virus, dengue, and malaria.

Sleeping sickness, or human African trypanosomiasis, is a life-threatening disease caused by related parasite strains, Trypanosoma brucei gambiense and Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense, transmitted by the tsetse fly.

Malaria, Acute Diarrhoea and Schistosomiasis are the three main communicable diseases in developing countries caused by unsafe water and lack of Sanitation.

Malaria: This disease is transmitted by mosquito bites, and the breeding grounds for these mosquitoes are often in stagnant or poorly managed water sources.

Schistosomiasis: This parasitic disease is contracted through contact with contaminated water, specifically through the skin.

Acute Diarrhoea: This is a symptom of various infections and is often caused by the ingestion of contaminated water or food due to poor sanitation practices.

The term taeniasis refers to intestinal infection with tapeworms. Three parasite species cause taeniasis in humans: Taenia solium (pork tapeworm), Taenia saginata (beef tapeworm), and Taenia asiatica (Asian tapeworm).

Only T. solium causes major health problems. T. solium taeniasis is acquired by humans through the ingestion of the parasite’s larval cysts (cysticerci) in undercooked and infected pork.

Humans can also become infected with T. solium eggs due to poor hygiene (via the fecal-oral route) or ingesting contaminated food or water. Ingested T. solium eggs develop to larvae (called cysticerci) in various organs of the human body.

When they enter the central nervous system (i.e., brain and spinal cord), they can cause neurological symptoms (neurocysticercosis), including epileptic seizures. Hence, both statements are correct.

Hence, it is a cluster of cells that have grouped together to form a sac. One rather common infection in India causing such a brain lesion is cysticercosis granuloma caused by the larval form of a tapeworm.