List of parasites of humans

Main article: Human parasites

Endoparasites

Protozoan organisms

Common name of organism or disease	Latin name (sorted)	Body parts affected	Diagnostic specimen	Prevalence	Source/ Transmission (Reservoir/ Vector)
Babesiosis	Babesia B. divergens, B. bigemina, B. equi, B. microfti, B. duncani	red blood cells	Giemsa-stained thin blood smear	New York, Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket (different species have worldwide distribution)	tick bites
Balantidiasis	Balantidium coli	intestinal mucosa	stool
Blastocystosis	Blastocystis	intestinal	direct microscopy of stool (PCR, anti body)	2 - 20% of population	eating food contaminated with feces from an infected human or animal
Coccidia	Cryptosporidium	intestines	stool	widespread
Dientamoebiasis	Dientamoeba fragilis	intestines	stool	up to 10% in industrialized countries	ingesting water or food contaminated with feces
Amoebiasis	Entamoeba histolytica	Intestines	stool	areas with poor sanitation, high population density and tropical regions	fecal-oral transmission
Giardia	Giardia lamblia	lumen of the small intestine	stool	widespread	ingestion of dormant cysts in fecal contaminated water or food
Isosporiasis	Isospora belli	epithelial cells of small intestines	stool	worldwide - less common than Toxoplasma or Cryptosporidium	fecal oral route
Leishmaniasis	Leishmania	cutaneous, mucocutaneous, or visceral	visual identification of lesion or microscopic stain with Leishman's or Giemsa's stain	Visceral leishmaniasis- Worldwide; Cutaneous leishmaniasis - Old World; Mucocutaneous leishmaniasis - New World	Phlebotomus - bite of several species of nocturnal phlebotomus sandflies
Primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM)	Naegleria fowleri	brain	culture	rare but deadly	Nasal insufflation of contaminated warm fresh water, poorly chlorinated swimming pools, hot springs, soil
Malaria	Plasmodium falciparum (80% of cases), Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium ovale, Plasmodium malariae	red blood cells	Blood film	tropical - 250 million cases/year	Anopheles mosquito, bites at night
Rhinosporidiosis	Rhinosporidium seeberi	nose, nasopharynx	reservoir water and soil	India and Sri Lanka	nasal mucosa came into contact with infected material through bathing in common ponds
Toxoplasmosis - Parasitic pneumonia	Toxoplasma gondii	eyes, brain, heart, liver	blood and PCR	widespread - up to one third of all humans	ingestion of uncooked/undercooked pork/lamb/goat with Toxoplasma bradyzoites, ingestion of raw milk with Toxoplasma tachyzoites, ingestion of contaminated water food or soil with oocysts in cat feces that is more than one day old
Trichomoniasis	Trichomonas vaginalis	female urogenital tract (males asymptomatic)	microscopic examination of genital swab	7.4 million Americans	sexually transmitted infection
Sleeping sickness	Trypanosoma brucei	blood lymph and central nervous systems	microscopic examination of chancre fluid, lymph node aspirates, blood, bone marrow	50,000 to 70,000 people	tsetse fly, bites at night
Chagas disease	Trypanosoma cruzi	colon, esophagus, heart, nerves, muscle and blood	Giemsa stain - blood	Mexico, Central America, South America - 16-18 million	Triatoma/Reduviidae - Insect Vector, bites at night

Helminths organisms (worms)

Common name of organism or disease	Latin name (sorted)	Body parts affected	Diagnostic specimen	Prevalence	Transmission/Vector
Ancylostomiasis/Hookworm	Ancylostoma duodenale, Necator americanus	lungs, small intestine, blood	stool	common in tropical, warm, moist climates	penetration of skin by L3 larva
Anisakiasis	Anisakis	allergic reaction	biopsy	incidental host	ingestion of raw fish, squid, cuttlefish, octopus
Roundworm - Parasitic pneumonia	Ascaris sp. Ascaris lumbricoides	Intestines, liver, appendix, pancreas, lungs, Löffler's syndrome	stool	common in tropical and subtropical regions
Roundworm	Baylisascaris Baylisascaris procyonis, Baylisascaris melis, Baylisascaris transfuga, Baylisascaris columnaris, Baylisascaris devosi, Baylisascaris laevis				depending on species: ingestion of material contaminated by stool from raccoons, badgers, bears, otters, martens
	Brugia malayi, Brugia timori	lymph nodes	blood samples	tropical regions of Asia	Arthropods
Tapeworm - Tapeworm infection	Cestoda	intestine	stool	rare
Clonorchiasis	Clonorchis sinensis; Clonorchis viverrini
	Dicrocoelium dendriticum	gall bladder		rare	ingestion of ants
Dioctophyme renalis infection	Dioctophyme renale	kidneys (typically the right)	Urine	Worldwide	Ingestion of undercooked or raw freshwater fish
Diphyllobothriasis - tapeworm	Diphyllobothrium latum	intestines, blood	stool (microscope)	Europe, Japan, Uganda, Peru, Chile	ingestion of raw fresh water fish
Guinea worm - Dracunculiasis	Dracunculus medinensis	subcutaneous tissues, muscle	skin blister/ulcer	Sudan
Echinococcosis - tapeworm	Echinococcus granulosus, Echinococcus multilocularis, E. vogeli, E. oligarthrus	liver, lungs, kidney, spleen	imaging of hydatid cysts in the liver, lungs, kidney and spleen	Mediterranean countries	as intermediate host, ingestion of material contaminated by feces from a carnivore; as definite host, ingestion of uncooked meat (offal) from a herbivore
	Echinostoma echinatum	small intestine		Far East	ingestion of raw fish, mollusks, snails
Pinworm - Enterobiasis	Enterobius vermicularis, Enterobius gregorii	intestines, anus	stool; tape test around anus	widespread; temperate regions
Liver fluke - Fasciolosis	Fasciola hepatica, Fasciola gigantica	liver, gall blader	stool	Fasciola hepatica in Europe, Africa, Australia, the Americas and Oceania; Fasciola gigantica only in Africa and Asia, 2.4 million people infected by both species	freshwater snails
Fasciolopsiasis - intestinal fluke	Fasciolopsis buski	intestines	stool or vomitus (microscope)	East Asia - 10 million people	ingestion of infested water plants or water (intermediate host:amphibic snails)
Gnathostomiasis	Gnathostoma spinigerum, Gnathostoma hispidum	subcutaneous tissues (under the skin)	physical examination	rare - Southeast Asia	ingestion of raw or undercooked meat (e.g., freshwater fish, chicken, snails, frogs, pigs) or contaminated water
Hymenolepiasis	Hymenolepis nana, Hymenolepis diminuta				ingestion of material contaminated by flour beetles, meal worms, cockroaches
Loa loa filariasis, Calabar swellings	Loa loa filaria	Connective tissue, lungs, eye	blood (Giemsa, haematoxylin, eosin stain)	rain forest of West Africa - 12-13 million people	Tabanidae - horse fly, bites in the day
Mansonelliasis, Filariasis	Mansonella streptocerca	subcutaneous layer of skin			insect
Metagonimiasis - intestinal fluke	Metagonimus yokogawai		stool	Siberia, Manchuria, Balkan states, Israel, Spain	ingestion of undercooked or salted fish
River blindness	Onchocerca volvulus, Onchocerciasis	skin, eye, tissue	bloodless skin snip	Africa, Yemen, Central and South America near cool, fast flowing rivers	Simulium/Black fly, bite during the day
Chinese Liver Fluke	Opisthorchis viverrini, Opisthorchis felineus, Clonorchis sinensis	bile duct		1.5 million people in Russia	consuming infected raw, slightly salted or frozen fish
Paragonimiasis, Lung Fluke	Paragonimus westermani; Paragonimus africanus; Paragonimus caliensis; Paragonimus kellicotti; Paragonimus skrjabini; Paragonimus uterobilateralis	lungs	sputum, feces	East Asia	ingestion of raw or undercooked freshwater crabs crayfishes or other crustaceans
Schistosomiasis - bilharzia, bilharziosis or snail fever (all types)	Schistosoma sp.			Africa, Caribbean, eastern South America, east Asia, Middle East - 200 million people	skin exposure to water contaminated with infected fresh water snails
intestinal schistosomiasis	Schistosoma mansoni	intestine, liver, spleen, lungs, skin	stool	Africa, Caribbean, South America, Asia, Middle East - 83 million people	skin exposure to water contaminated with infected Biomphalaria fresh water snails
urinary schistosomiasis	Schistosoma haematobium	kidney, bladder, ureters, lungs, skin	urine	Africa, Middle East	skin exposure to water contaminated with infected Bulinus sp. snails
Schistosomiasis by Schistosoma japonicum	Schistosoma japonicum	intestine, liver, spleen, lungs, skin	stool	China, East Asia, Philippines	skin exposure to water contaminated with infected Oncomelania sp. snails
Asian intestinal schistosomiasis	Schistosoma mekongi -			South East Asia	skin exposure to water contaminated with infected Neotricula aperta - fresh water snails
Sparganosis	Spirometra erinaceieuropaei				ingestion of material contaminated with infected dog or cat feces (humans: dead-end host)
Strongyloidiasis - Parasitic pneumonia	Strongyloides stercoralis	Intestines, lungs, skin (Larva currens)	stool, blood		skin penetration
Beef tapeworm	Taenia saginata	Intestines	stool	worldwide distribution	ingestion of undercooked beef
Pork tapeworm	Taenia solium				ingestion of undercooked pork
Toxocariasis	Toxocara canis, Toxocara cati	liver, brain, eyes (Toxocara canis - Visceral larva migrans, Ocular larva migrans)	blood, ocular examination	worldwide distribution	pica, unwashed food contamined with Toxocara eggs, undercooked livers of chicken
Trichinosis	Trichinella spiralis, Trichinella britovi, Trichinella nelsoni, Trichinella nativa	muscle, periorbital region, small intestine	blood	more common in developing countries due to improved feeding practices in developed countries.	ingestion of undercooked pork
Swimmer's itch	Trichobilharzia regenti, Schistosomatidae				skin exposure to contaminated water (snails and vertebrates)
Whipworm	Trichuris trichiura, Trichuris vulpis	large intestine, anus	stool (eggs)	common worldwide	accidental ingestion of eggs in dry goods such as beans, rice, and various grains or soil contaminated with human feces
ElephantiasisLymphatic filariasis	Wuchereria bancrofti	lymphatic system	thick blood smears stained with hematoxylin.	Tropical and subtropical	mosquito, bites at night

Other organisms

Common name of organism or disease	Latin name (sorted)	Body parts affected	Diagnostic specimen	Prevalence	Transmission/Vector
parasitic worm	Archiacanthocephala
Halzoun Syndrome	Linguatula serrata	nasopharynx	physical examination	Mid East	ingestion of raw or undercooked lymph nodes (e.g., meat from infected camels and buffalos)
Myiasis	Oestroidea, Calliphoridae, Sarcophagidae	dead or living tissue
Chigoe flea	Tunga penetrans	Subcutaneous tissue	physical examination	Central and South America
Human Botfly	Dermatobia hominis	Subcutaneous tissue	physical examination	Central and South America	Mosquitoes and biting flies
Candiru	Trichomycteridae	Urethra	physical examination	Amazon River Basin	Urinating in waters inhabited by the fish without proper protection

Ectoparasites

Common name of organism or disease	Latin name (sorted)	Body parts affected	Diagnostic specimen	Prevalence	Transmission/Vector
Bedbug	Cimicidae Cimex lectularius	skin	visual	Worldwide	sharing of clothing and bedding
Head louse - Pediculosis	Pediculus humanus	hair follicles	visual identification under magnification	Common worldwide	head-to-head contact
Body louse - Pediculosis	Pediculus humanus corporis		visual identification under magnification (Vagabond's disease)	Worldwide	skin-to-skin contact such as sexual activity and via sharing clothing or bedding
Crab louse - Pediculosis	Phthirus pubis	pubic area, eyelashes	visual identification under magnification	Worldwide	skin-to-skin contact such as sexual activity and via sharing clothing or bedding
Demodex - Demodicosis	Demodex folliculorum/brevis/canis	eyebrow, eyelashes	Microscopy of eyelash or eyebrow hair follicle	Pandemic, worldwide	prolonged skin-to-skin contact
Scabies	Sarcoptes scabiei	skin	microscopy of surface scrapings	Worldwide	skin-to-skin contact such as sexual activity and via sharing clothing or bedding

See also

• List of human parasitic diseases

External links

• A List of Human Intestinal Parasites accessed May 2008

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