Question

Name the causative organisms for the following diseases.
(i) Elephantiasis
(ii) Ringworm
(iii) Amoebiasis

Answer 1

1. Elephantiasis refers to a parasitic infection that causes extreme swelling in the arms and legs. The disease is caused by the filarial worm, which is transmitted form human to human via the female mosquito, when it takes a blood meal. The parasite grows into an adult worm that lives in the lymphatic system of humans. Examples of nematode parasites that cause lymphatic filariasis includes Wuchereria bancrofti, Brugia malayi and Brugia timori. The larvae (microfilariae) of the parasite are taken up by the mosquito when it feeds.
2. Ringworm is a skin infection due to a fungus. Often, there are several patches of ringworm on your skin at once. Ringworm is common, especially among children. However, it may affect people of all ages. It is caused by a fungus, not a worm like the name suggests. Many bacteria and fungi live on your body. Some of these are useful, while others can cause infections. Ringworm occurs when a type of fungus called tinea grows and multiplies on your skin.

Ringworm can affect the skin on your:
Beard -- Tinea barbae
Body -- Tinea corporia
Feet -- Tinea pedis (also called athlete's foot)
Groin area -- Tinea cruris (also called jock itch)
Scalp -- Tinea capitis.
3. Amoebiasis, or amebiasis, refers to infection caused by the amoeba Entamoeba histolytica. The term entamoebiasis is occasionally seen but is no longer in use; it refers to the same infection. A gastrointestinal infection that may or may not be symptomatic and can remain latent in an infected person for several years, amoebiasis is estimated to cause 70,000 deaths per year world wide. Symptoms can range from mild diarrhoea to dysentery with blood and mucus in the stool. E. histolytica is usually a commensal organism. Severe amoebiasis infections (known as invasive or fulminant amoebiasis) occur in two major forms. Invasion of the intestinal lining causes amoebic dysentery or amoebic colitis.