Question

What are obligate parasites?

Answer 1

Obligate parasite:

1. Obligate parasites are parasites that entirely depend on an external host for their survival and reproduction.
2. They die in the absence of a host as they don't possess the metabolic machinery to generate energy for themselves.
3. Some obligate parasites spend their entire life cycle in an external host by evading their immune system.
4. They cause damage to the host and even lead to death.
5. Examples of obligate parasites are Rickettsia and Chlamydia.