Know about protozoal infections

Protozoa are tiny single celled organisms not visible to the naked eye. Though they are tiny in size they can wreck havoc on a person’s life. Amoeba is the commonest protozoal infection encountered in various forms. Entamoeba histolytica, entamoeba coli,e.t.c. are the various forms which cause infection in men. Amoeba lives in fresh water, salt and sewage water and moist parts of animals. In the human body, they may live in dormant form for a long time, enclosed in a cyst, which protects them from adverse environmental conditions. A person may harbour the cysts for a long time without getting any symptoms. Once the vegetative forms are released from the cysts they cause clinical illness. Commonest are the intestinal infections. In this one may have semi-liquid diarrhea, with or without abdominal cramps and sense of bloating. At times one may have stools mixed with blood, which is very frightening. The severity of infection depends on the dose of infection and resistance of the individual. Another species of the family of amoeba are enterohaemorrhagic E.coli(EHCH). This can cause a fatal illness by inducing bleeding from various parts of the body. Apart from this the amoebae can travel to other parts of the body and cause illness of the liver, lungs and even the brain. An abscess is formed which causes severe pain due to local inflammation and compression of the local tissues. This becomes difficult to detect at times because it mimics so many other illness. Giardia and Trichomonias are other protozoan species which can cause abdominal pain and diarrhea. In addition Trichomonias are also known to cause sexually transmitted disease both in men and women. In this infection, one gets itching over genital parts, dirty yellowish mucopurulent, foul smelling copious discharge pain in lower abdomen and lumbar region. All these infections are acquired through the fecal-oral route. Toxoplasmosis is yet another protozoan infection which occurs due to poor food hygiene and causes multi- organ illness Along with amoebae, the protozoa causing illness most commonly in man are the plasmodium. Various species of plasmodium cause the dreaded illness malaria. This is spread to man by the bite of mosquito. It is a well known fact that mosquitoes breed in stagnant water in marshes, in water of air coolers and flower pots. Due to extensive and intense malaria control measures by the Government of Rwanda, this dreaded illness has been brought under considerable control. But it still continues to be a public health problem in many tropical countries. Whatever form of protozoan infection may be present, it affects the health of an individual. Acute infections lead to distress and discomfort. Chronic and recurrent infections cause chronic diarrhea and resultant malnutrition. Therefore, it is better to prevent these infections, rather than getting infected and taking treatment repeatedly. Many people are ignorant about the fact that any anti-protozoan treatment taken cures the current illness but does not offer any immunity against future infections. One may get cured today with medicines, but tomorrow if he is exposed to the infection again, he can be sick again. All these infections occur due to poor personal and environmental hygiene. It is vital to improve both, so that people do not get protozoan infections and remain healthy. Infections like amoebiasis occur by feco-oral route, i.e., if food consumed is contaminated by fecal matter containing amoeba or Giardia, the infecting agents will pass in the gut of the person. This contamination can occur at any level of cooking, serving or eating the food. Hence one needs to observe utmost hygiene in the cooking, serving and eating of food. Similarly, good hygiene along with discipline is needed in sexual activity. Anybody infected with trichomoniasis should not indulge in sexual activity till he or she is completely cured. Ideally treatment of both partners is needed. Malaria prevention primarily involves prevention of the breeding of mosquitoes. Proper good drains, avoiding formation of ditches with stagnant water and cesspools is useful in this regard. Use of insecticides like D.D.T. helps in reducing the number of mosquitoes. Sleeping inside mosquito nets prevents bites by mosquitoes. Thus by adopting such simple measures, protozoan infections can be prevented and people can avoid being sick repeatedly. rachna212002@yahoo.co.uk