Protozoa and Human Disease

Book Summary

Protozoa and Human Disease is a textbook for advanced undergraduate and graduate students studying parasitology and microbiology. It will also be a useful reference for public health and medical students.

Dr. Mark Wiser reviews medically important protozoa and treatment strategies. He describes pathogens according to a taxonomic scheme and in reference to the organ systems they affect. The book covers the morphological features and life cycles of the various protozoa and the pathogeneses of the diseases they cause. Life cycles are discussed in detail as they also influence host-parasite interactions, pathology, disease transmission, and epidemiology.

Students will benefit from the author’s fresh approach, which blends classical and medical parasitology with more modern disciplines. These include the molecular and immunological basis of pathogenesis; metabolic pathways; specialized subcellular structures; ecology of disease transmission; antigenic variation; and molecular epidemiology. An extensive glossary of molecular biology, immunology, and medical terms helps students navigate across disciplines.

1. Introduction to Medical Protozoology
2. Overview of Intestinal Protozoa
3. Entamoeba and Amebiasis
4. Giardiasis
5. Trichomonas vaginalis and Other Trichomonads
6. Balantidium coli and Blastocystis hominis
7. Kinetoplastids
8. African Trypanosomiasis
9. Trypanosoma cruzi and Chagas’ Disease
10. Leishmaniasis
11. General Apicomplexan Biology
12. Cryptosporidium
13. Monoxenous Intestinal Coccidia
14. Toxoplasma gondii and Cyst-forming Coccidia 
15. Malaria
16. Babesiosis
17. Free-Living Protozoa Affecting Human Health