The fecal-oral transmission is the most common transmission route of protozoa and helminths. This is when another person swallows the parasites in the stool of one person.
The common symptoms of parasites in the organism are gastrointestinal ones such as diarrhea. However, if the parasites attack the organs or the red blood cells, the consequences may be more severe.
The protozoa are tiny organisms with one cell which multiply inside the body of humans. The protozoa giardia has a two-stage life cycle. The first phase or the trophozoite is when the parasite swims around and eats nutrients from the small bowel.
The second stage is when it grows into a non-moving cyst. Cysts that are expelled into the feces can contaminate the water supply so ingestion of contaminated water or food increases the risk of transmission. Also, close human-to-human contact and unsanitary living conditions increase the risk of transmission.
Symptoms of giardia include serious or chronic diarrhea, cramps in the abdominal area, tiredness, weight loss, and weakness. Other protozoa are the plasmodium species. They develop in mosquitoes and the infected mosquitoes transmit the parasite to humans through bites.
Plasmodium is known to destroy the red blood cells, affect organ function, and lead to malaria. Malaria is known to cause the most deaths of all parasitic illnesses.
