Plasmodium is a genus of unicellular eukaryotes that are obligate parasites of vertebrates and insects. The life cycles of Plasmodium species involve development in a blood-feeding insect host which then injects parasites into a vertebrate host during a blood meal. Parasites grow within a vertebrate body tissue before entering the bloodstream to infect red blood cells. The ensuing destruction of host red blood cells can result in disease, called malaria. During this infection, some parasites are picked up by a blood-feeding insect, continuing the life cycle.
Parasitology is the study of parasites, their hosts, and the relationship between them. As a biological discipline, the scope of parasitology is not determined by the organism or environment in question but by their way of life. This means it forms a synthesis of other disciplines, and draws on techniques from fields such as cell biology, bioinformatics, biochemistry, molecular biology, immunology, genetics, evolution and ecology.
Diphyllobothrium is a genus of tapeworms which can cause diphyllobothriasis in humans through consumption of raw or undercooked fish. The principal species causing diphyllobothriasis is Diphyllobothrium latum, known as the broad or fish tapeworm, or broad fish tapeworm. D. latum is a pseudophyllid cestode that infects fish and mammals. D. latum is native to Scandinavia, western Russia, and the Baltics, though it is now also present in North America, especially the Pacific Northwest. In Far East Russia, D. klebanovskii, having Pacific salmon as its second intermediate host, was identified. Other members of the genus Diphyllobothrium include Diphyllobothrium dendriticum, which has a much larger range, D. pacificum, D. cordatum, D. ursi, D. lanceolatum, D. dalliae, and D. yonagoensis, all of which infect humans only infrequently. In Japan, the most common species in human infection is D. nihonkaiense, which was only identified as a separate species from D. latum in 1986. More recently, a molecular study found D. nihonkaiense and D. klebanovskii to be a single species.
Schistosomatidae is a family of digenetic trematodes with complex parasitic life cycles. Immature developmental stages of schistosomes are found in molluscs and adults occur in vertebrates. The best studied group, the blood flukes of the genus Schistosoma, infect and cause disease in humans. Other genera which are infective to non-human vertebrates can cause mild rashes in humans.
Paragonimus is a genus of flukes (trematodes). Some tens of species have been described, but they are difficult to distinguish, so it is not clear how many of the named species may be synonyms. The name Paragonimus is derived from the combination of two Greek words, “para” and “gonimos”. Several of the species are known as lung flukes. In humans some of the species occur as zoonoses; the term for the condition is paragonimiasis. The first intermediate hosts of Paragonimus include at least 54 species of freshwater snails from superfamilies Cerithioidea and Rissooidea.
Elaeophora is a genus of parasitic nematodes which live attached to the interior surfaces of major arteries, veins and/or heart chambers in various large mammal hosts. Infestation with Elaeophora species is referred to as elaeophorosis. The species of Elaeophora have been found in Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America. Despite the fact that they produce aneurysms in the arteries and heart of their hosts which measure up to 2 cm in diameter, overt clinical symptoms of infestation are seldom reported, with the notable exception of E. schneideri infestation in sheep, elk, and moose.
Haemogregarina is a genus of haemoprotozoans, parasitic mainly on cold-blooded vertebrates. They are unicellular organisms which are parasitic in the red blood cells. Haemogregarina infects lower vertebrates as intermediate hosts and leeches.
Kinixys, hinge-back tortoise, is a genus of turtles in the family Testudinidae. The species in the genus Kinixys are native to mainland Africa and commonly known as hinged tortoises.
The Anisakidae are a family of intestinal nematodes (roundworms). The larvae of these worms can cause anisakiasis when ingested by humans, in raw or insufficiently cooked fish.
Haemoproteus is a genus of alveolates that are parasitic in birds, reptiles and amphibians. Its name is derived from Greek: Haima, "blood", and Proteus, a sea god who had the power of assuming different shapes. The name Haemoproteus was first used in the description of Haemoproteus columbae in the blood of the pigeon Columba livia by Kruse in 1890. This was also the first description of this genus. Two other genera — Halteridium and Simondia — are now considered to be synonyms of Haemoproteus.
Adeleorina is a suborder of parasites in the phylum Apicomplexa.
Garnia is a genus of parasitic alveolates belonging to the phylum Apicomplexia.
Pseudoklossia is a genus in the phylum Apicomplexa. Species in this genus infect marine molluscs, although one species infects in an ascidian worm. The life cycle is heteroxenous.
The Platyproteum are a genus of parasitic alveolates in the phylum Apicomplexa. Species in this genus infect marine invertebrates.
Siedleckia are a genus of parasitic alveolates in the phylum Apicomplexa. Species in this genus infect marine invertebrates.
Paragonimus kellicotti, the North American lung fluke, is a species of parasitic trematode in the genus Paragonimus. This species of Paragonimus has an intricate lifecycle, and although its name may suggest that it is only a health concern in North America, it is also prominent in Southeast Asia and China.
Baracktrema obamai is a species of blood fluke, found in Malaysian freshwater turtles. The discovery prompted the creation of a new genus, Baracktrema. It was discovered in 2015 by a team of American parasitologists led by Thomas R. Platt, and named after U.S. President Barack Obama.
Choanocotyle elegans is a species of flatworms in the family Choanocotylidae. It infects Australian freshwater turtles. It was described from the small intestine of Chelodina expansa and Emydura macquarii.
Cephalogonimidae is a family of trematode parasites characterized by a genital pore located anterior to the oral sucker, at the apex of the body.
