Question

Name and describe a parasite for which humans are abnormal host of the parasite and suffer more serious damage from parasite . briefly describe damage caused to humans

Answer 1

This kind of host is known as the paratenic host. This host is not essential for the parasite but this host is just required for some stage.

A paratenic host is similar to an intermediate host, except that it is not needed for the parasite's development cycle to progress. Paratenic hosts serve as "dumps" for non-mature stages of a parasite in which they can accumulate in high numbers. The trematode Alaria Americana may serve as an example: the so-called mesocercarial stages of this parasite reside in tadpoles, which are rarely eaten by the definitive canine host. The tadpoles are more frequently preyed on by snakes, in which the mesocercariae may not undergo further development. However, the parasites may accumulate in the snake paratenic host and infect the definitive host once the snake is consumed by a canid.