Medical Parasitology: A Self-Instructional Text

Course overview

In recent years, various phenomena have increased the incidence of parasitic diseases among North Americans. Increased world travel by U.S. residents and the influx of immigrants from underdeveloped regions have brought increasing numbers of once seldom-encountered parasites into this country. Shifts in sexual behaviors have altered the traditionally accepted epidemiology of infections such as giardiasis and amebiasis. In addition, individuals with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) have contracted infections caused by previously rare opportunistic parasites and have suffered more severe symptoms from infection caused by usually less virulent organisms. Such situations lend an increased urgency to correctly diagnose and treat parasitic diseases by U.S physicians and to detect these diseases by laboratory technologists.