Parasitic infections ectoparasitic

Fig. 1.4. (cont d) Two main competing outgroups for the Neodermata are (a,c,e,g) a clade of parasitic turbellaria, which, with the obligate parasites, form the Mediofusata (see Fig. 1.3c) and (b,d,f,h) a clade of neoophoran turbellarians (see Fig. 1.3e). By mapping site of infection (ectoparasitic/endoparasitic) and identity of hosts used, few topologies offer unequivocal reconstructions of plesiomorphic states.

A parasite that lives outside the body of the host is called an ectoparasite. Approximately 6 to 12 million subjects become infested with pediculosis (lice infestation) yearly in the United States. Pediculosis is usually associated with poor hygiene, and infections are passed from person to person through social and sexual contact. 

This chapter discusses the major parasitic diseases, including protozoan diseases (amebiasis, malaria), helminthic infections (as-cariasis, enterobiasis), and ectoparasitic infestations (head and body lice). Emphasis is placed on diseases seen more frequently in the... 

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