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4.1 Introduction
ОглавлениеIn this chapter, we will introduce just a few of the kinetoplastid parasites that are important in human and veterinary medicine. This is a remarkable group of protozoa that includes parasites of plants, invertebrates, and vertebrates. Their transmission strategies range from contamination to vector assisted and sexually transmitted. We do not usually think of algae as parasitic organisms but there are a few that have adopted this lifestyle and some even parasitise us. This should not come as a surprise as several notorious protozoan parasites, such as Plasmodium, probably evolved from algal ancestors. The fungi have a Kingdom of their own and are normally considered the preserve of mycologists. However, the microsporidia are something of a special case. Originally classed as protozoa, they fell within the remit of parasitologists. Now, their subsequent reclassification as fungi presents parasitologists with a bit of dilemma. Namely, do they still belong within parasitology textbooks when yeast infections etc. are firmly excluded? At the time of writing, the classification of the Microsporidia is being called into question again, and therefore, we feel justified in including them here.