A) Basic factors of transmission of parasitic diseases:
1) The source of the infection
2) The routes of transmission
3) The susceptible host
Parasitic disease → Infectious disease → Transmission
The combined effect of those factors, helps in:
1. Determine the spread and the prevalence of the parasites at a given time and place
2. Regulate the incidence of the parasitic diseases in certain local population
The source of the infection
1.
Patient (Case): Persons who have parasites in their body and show clinical symptoms
2.
Carrier: Persons who have parasites in their body but not show clinical symptoms
3.
Reservoir host: Animals that harbors the same species of parasites as man. Sometimes, the parasites in the animals can be transmitted to human
The routes of transmission
1.
Congenital transmission: From mother to infant, toxoplasmosis
2.
Contact transmission:
-
Direct contact - Trichomonas vaginalis
-
Indirect contact - Ascaris lumbricodes
3.
Food transmission: The infectious stage of parasites contaminated food/The meat of intermediate host containing infectious stage of parasites
4.
Water transmission: Drink or contact the water contaminated the infectious stage of parasites
5.
Soil transmission: Contamination of the soil by feces containing the certain stage of parasites and this stage can develop into another stage
6.
Arthropod transmission: vectors of certain parasitic diseases
The susceptible host
In general, most people is the susceptible host. The parasite reaching the susceptible host must gain entrance and set up a favorable residence in order to complete its life cycle and cause the transmission of parasitic diseases
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B) The avenue of invasion:
1) Digestive tract: Most common avenue of entrance
(food/water transmission)
2) Skin: Infective larvae perforate skin and reach to body and establish infection
(soil/water transmission)
3) Blood: Bloodsucking insects containing infective parasites bite the skin and inject parasites into human blood
(Arthropod transmission
→ Malaria)
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C) The prevention measures of the parasitic diseases:
1)
Controlling the source of infection:
- Treatment of the patients, carriers and reservoir hosts
2)
Intervention at the routes of transmission:
- Managing feces and water resource
- Controlling or eliminating vectors and intermediate hosts
3)
Protecting the susceptible hosts:
- Paying attention to personal hygiene
- Changing bad eating habit
- Taking medicine
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