Test Kits

PARASITE TEST KIT (31 vials)
(Test Kit PA)

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Parasite: “any organism living in or on any other living creature and deriving advantage from doing so, while causing disadvantage to the host”
BMA Complete Family Health Encyclopaedia

Parasites are commonly acquired by eating contaminated meat, swallowing eggs on food, contaminating fingers with faecal material or through contact with infected water.

Categories of parasites
Parasites are divided into the following categories:

1. flatworms (also called platyhelminths)
a) tapeworms (also called cestodes)
b) flukes (also called trematodes)
2. roundworms
a) threadworms
b) pinworms
c) hookworms

Life Stages
Roundworms: egg ® larva ® adult
Tapeworms: egg ® larva ® encased by body in a cyst ® adult
Fluke: egg ® miracidia ® redia ® cercaria ® metacercaria ® adult

Scolex = part of tapeworm attached by suckers and hooks to gut wall of host; sometimes called head
Proglottides = segment-like units of the tapeworm body which, when mature, leave the gut of the primary host in the faeces; they are budded off from the scolex

Code	Latin Name	Category	Common Name	Symptoms	Comments
PA1	Ancylostoma Caninum	roundworm	hookworm	damage to intestinal walls, anemia, itchy skin, dizziness, pneumonitis, anorexia	tropical parasite; usual host is dogs
PA2	Ancylostoma Egg	roundworm	hookworm		tropical parasite; picked up from working barefoot amongst faeces or eating contaminated food
PA3	Ancylostoma Female	roundworm	hookworm		tropical parasite; picked up from working barefoot amongst faeces or eating contaminated food
PA4	Ascaris Female	roundworm	human roundworm commonly found in cats and dogs	sometimes asymptomatic; urticaria; mild to acute colicky pain with distension; reduced appetite; larvae in lungs can provoke pneumonia	the most common worm infection world wide, particularly in developing countries
PA5	Ascaris Male	roundworm	human roundworm commonly found in cats and dogs	sometimes asymptomatic; urticaria; mild to acute colicky pain with distension; reduced appetite; larvae in lungs can provoke pneumonia	the most common worm infection world wide, particularly in developing countries
PA6	Cimex		bed bug	itchy, painful bites which can lead to bacterial infection	lives in plaster, walls, furniture, bed frames
PA7	Clonorchis Sinensis	Flatworm (also called platyhelminths)	human oriental liver fluke	chronic liver disease; death if left untreated	widespread in China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam; via domestic dogs and cats
PA8	Culex Imago Female		gnat / mosquito
PA9	Dipylidium Scolex Mature & gravid proglottides	Flatworm (also called platyhelminths)	tapeworm (also called cestodes)		grows in segments; the end can be uterus packed with eggs
PA10	Echinococcus Granulosus	Flatworm (also called platyhelminths)	tapeworm (also called cestodes)	affects liver, lungs, brain and bones	from sheep and cattle
PA11	Enterobius Vermicularis	roundworm	threadworm	often cause itching of the anus; may provoke appendicitis	the most common worm infection in U.K. ; lives in upper part of large intestine; children particularly affected
PA12	Fasciola	Flatworm (also called platyhelminths)	liver fluke (also called trematodes)
PA13	Fasciola Cercaria	Flatworm (also called platyhelminths)	liver fluke (also called trematodes)		mainly lives in liver of sheep
PA14	Fasciola Egg	Flatworm (also called platyhelminths)	liver fluke (also called trematodes)		mainly in liver of sheep
PA15	Fasiola Redia	Flatworm (also called platyhelminths)	liver fluke (also called trematodes)
PA16	Necator Americanus Eggs	roundworm	hookworm	Symptoms can include coughing and wheezing, but may be asymptomatic	common infection in the Americas, sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and the Pacific
PA17	Onchocerca Volvulus		filarial worm	Asymptomatic until worm dies when causes inflammation and itching	predominantly Africa, but also South America and Yemen
PA18	Paragonimus Westermani Eggs	Flatworm (also called platyhelminths)	liver fluke (also called trematodes)	coughing, chest pains, fever, night sweats	most important lung fluke affecting humans, widespread in the Far East and SE Asia
PA19	Pediculus Humanus Capitis		Lice	itching	can spread other diseases such as typhus and trench fever
PA20	Schistosoma Mansoni Adult Female	Flatworm (also called platyhelminths)	blood fluke (also called trematodes)		common tropical fluke, responsible for bilharzia, found in Africa, parts of S. America, the Caribbean and Arabia
PA21	Schistosoma Mansoni Cercariae	Flatworm (also called platyhelminths)	body fluke (also called trematodes)		common tropical fluke, responsible for bilharzia, found in Africa, parts of S. America, the Caribbean and Arabia
PA22	Schistosoma Mansoni Egg	Flatworm (also called platyhelminths)	body fluke (also called trematodes)		common tropical fluke, responsible for bilharzia, found in Africa, parts of S. America, the Caribbean and Arabia
PA23	Schistosoma Mansoni Miracidia	Flatworm (also called platyhelminths)	body fluke (also called trematodes)		common tropical fluke, responsible for bilharzia, found in Africa, parts of S. America, the Caribbean and Arabia
PA24	Taenia Scolex	Flatworm (also called platyhelminths)	tapeworm (also called cestodes)	hunger, weakness, weight loss	from eating uncooked meat; common in tropical countries
PA25	Taenia Scolex, immature, mature & gravid proglottids	Flatworm (also called platyhelminths)	tapeworm (also called cestodes)	hunger, weakness, weight loss	from eating uncooked meat; common in tropical countries
PA26	Trichinella Spiralis Encysted Larvae		intestinal nematode	abdominal pain and diarrhoea followed by muscle and joint pain and fever	found in Europe, sub-Saharan Africa and the Arctic, main sources are undercooked pork and wild meat
PA27	Trichinella Spiralis Female		intestinal nematode	abdominal pain and diarrhoea followed by muscle and joint pain and fever	found in Europe, sub-Saharan Africa and the Arctic, main sources are undercooked pork and wild meat
PA28	Trichinella Spiralis Male		intestinal nematode	abdominal pain and diarrhoea followed by muscle and joint pain and fever	found in Europe, sub-Saharan Africa and the Arctic, main sources are undercooked pork and wild meat
PA29	Trichuris Trichiura		whipworm	asymptomatic but can cause dysentery-like illness	world-wide distribution
PA30	Trichuris Trichiura Egg		whipworm	asymptomatic but can cause dysentery-like illness	world-wide distribution
PA31	Xenopsylla Cheopsis		rat flea		transmits plague, typhus and two tape worms

References:
B. K. Mandal et al Infectious Diseases
D.R. Bell Tropical Medicine
M. Thain & M. Hickman Penguin Dictionary of Biology
Miranda Linden Welton has also contributed information.

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© Jane Thurnell-Read