Protozoa Questions: Body Response, Travel & Comparison

[gordda]

Hello does anyone know the answer to these questions of the pathogen protozoa? i don't know whether to generalize all protozoa as the same or not?

1)How do the body respond to an invasion of protozoa and would be the same for most different types of protozoa?

2)Also do most type of protozoa travel in the same manner via vector?

3)And lastly was are the similarities and differences between protozoa and the other types of pathogens (viruses, bacteria, fungi, anthropodsand prions)?

thanx :)

 

[Ouabache]

I would be happy to give you my thoughts on your query. But first, relating to your questions, what information have you already learned about Protozoa?

 

[gordda]

i know that all protozoa is a single cell eukaryotic pathogen. i know some protozoa spread themselves by a vector, i know that in some cases like malaria the protozoa will change its antigen so that it can't be detected by the body's immune system and i also know that any pathogen that doesn't fit in the category of bacteria, virus, fungi or arthopods are then cataergorized into protozoa.
thats what i know about protozoa. i just want to know a bit more about them in terms of the difference between protoza and other pathogen and do all protozoa have the same way to avoid destruction when it infects a host and if not how do the protozoa that don't avoid destruction how does the body immune responsed to the protozoa.

 

[iansmith]

Antigenic variation is a common virulence factor amongs pathogens (bacteria, virus and protozoa) that helps to evade the immune respond. However, each pathogen have more or less different ways of avoiding the immune system. Some also may want to be recognized by the immune system in order to finish their life cycle or have a successful invasion.

The immune responce is quite similar from bacteria to virus to protozoan. However, there is some protozoan/eukaryotes specific types of response.

As far as vectors goes, the travel through vectors is often species specific. For example, the malaria protozoan (Plasmodium) will have a different life cycle in their vector host when sleeping sickness protozoan (Trypanosoma). There is probably common feature between both organism but the host vector will have an effect on the life cycle. Protozoan that are transmitted by the same type of vector may have very similar life cycle inside the host vector. Protozoan of the same genus will also have very similar life cycle even it its not in the same vector host.