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| Common name of organism or disease | Latin name (sorted) | Body parts affected | Diagnostic specimen | Prevalence | Source/Transmission (Reservoir/Vector) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amoebiasis | Entamoeba histolytica | intestines (mainly colon, but can cause liver failure if not treated) | stool (fresh diarrheic stools have amoeba, solid stool has cyst) | areas with poor sanitation, high population density and tropical regions | fecal-oral transmission of cyst, not amoeba |
| Babesiosis | Babesia B. divergens, B. bigemina, B. equi, B. microfti, B. duncani | red blood cells | Giemsa-stained thin blood smear | New England (different species have worldwide distribution) | tick bites, e.g. Ixodes scapularis |
| Balantidiasis | Balantidium coli | intestinal mucosa, may become invasive in some patients | stool (diarrhea=ciliated trophozoite; solid stool=large cyst with horseshoe shaped nucleus) | ingestion of cyst, zoonotic infection acquired from pigs (feces) | |
| Blastocystosis | Blastocystis spp. | intestinal | direct microscopy of stool (PCR, antibody) | • worldwide: one of the most common human parasites[1][2] | eating food contaminated with feces from an infected human or animal |
| • Developing regions: infects 40–100% of the total populations[1][2][3] | |||||
| Chagas disease | Trypanosoma cruzi | colon, esophagus, heart, nerves, muscle and blood | Giemsa stain – blood | Mexico, Central America, South America – 16–18 million | Triatoma/Reduviidae – kissing bug insect vector, feeds at night |
| Cryptosporidiosis | Cryptosporidium spp. | intestines | stool | widespread | ingestion of oocyst (sporulated), some species are zoonotic (e.g. bovine fecal contamination) |
| Cyclosporiasis | Cyclospora cayetanensis | intestines | stool | United States | ingestion of oocyst thru contaminated food |
| Dientamoebiasis | Dientamoeba fragilis | intestines | stool | up to 10% in industrialized countries | ingesting water or food contaminated with feces |
| Giardiasis | Giardia lamblia | lumen of the small intestine | stool | worldwide? | ingestion of water containing deer or beaver feces |
| Granulomatous amoebic encephalitis | Balamuthia mandrillaris | brain, skin | culture | worldwide | via inhalation or skin lesion |
| Granulomatous amoebic encephalitis and Acanthamoeba keratitis (eye infection) | Acanthamoeba spp. | eye, brain, skin | culture | worldwide | contact lenses cleaned with contaminated tap water |
| Isosporiasis | Isospora belli | epithelial cells of small intestines | stool | worldwide – less common than Toxoplasma or Cryptosporidium | fecal oral route – ingestion of sporulated oocyst |
| Leishmaniasis | Leishmania spp. | cutaneous, mucocutaneous, or visceral | visual identification of lesion or microscopic stain with Leishman's or Giemsa's stain | visceral leishmaniasis – worldwide; cutaneous leishmaniasis – Old World; mucocutaneous leishmaniasis – New World | Phlebotomus, Lutzomyia – bite of several species of phlebotomine sandflies |
| Malaria | Plasmodium falciparum (80% of cases), Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium ovale curtisi, Plasmodium ovale wallikeri, Plasmodium malariae, Plasmodium knowlesi | red blood cells, liver | blood film | tropical – 250 million cases/year | Anopheles mosquito |
| Primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM)[4][5] | Naegleria fowleri | brain | culture | unknown, but infection is rare | nasal insufflation of contaminated warm fresh water, poorly chlorinated swimming pools, hot springs, soil |
| Rhinosporidiosis | Rhinosporidium seeberi | nose, nasopharynx | biopsy | India and Sri Lanka | nasal mucosa came into contact with infected material through bathing in common ponds |
| Sarcocystosis | Sarcocystis bovihominis,Sarcocystis suihominis | intestine, muscle | muscle biopsy | widespread | ingestion of uncooked/undercooked beef/pork with Sarcocystis sarcocysts |
| Sleeping sickness | Trypanosoma brucei | brain and blood | microscopic examination of chancre fluid, lymph node aspirates, blood, bone marrow | 50,000 to 70,000 people; only found in Africa | tsetse fly, day-biting fly of the genus Glossina |
| Toxoplasmosis (Acute and Latent) | Toxoplasma gondii | eyes, brain, heart, liver | blood and PCR | worldwide: one of the most common human parasites; estimated to infect between 30–50% of the global population.[6][7] | ingestion of uncooked/undercooked pork/lamb/goat with Toxoplasma bradyzoites, ingestion of raw milk with Toxoplasma tachyzoites, ingestion of contaminated water food or soil with oocysts in cat feces that is more than one day old |
| Trichomoniasis | Trichomonas vaginalis | female urogenital tract (males asymptomatic) | microscopic examination of genital swab | worldwide | sexually transmitted infection – only trophozoite form (no cysts) |
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