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In developing
this resource, we considered it essential that students get
to know the parasite assemblages themselves in order to understand
the ways in which they interact with their hosts and cause
disease, as well as to understand the logic behind different
diagnostic techniques and various treatment and control strategies.
By learning basic parasitological information in a clinical
context, it is hoped students will develop their skills to:
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diagnose
the major parasitic groups in host tissues and fomites; |
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deduce
their modes of transmission from their sites of infection; |
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indicate
their pathogenicity for different host groups; |
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identify
boundaries to their distribution and abundance; |
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recommend
appropriate treatment and control strategies; and |
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assess
their significance with respect to human and animal
health and welfare. |
The impetus
for this work was provided by the apparent absence of textbooks
giving the right degree and mix of biological and clinical
information. Many general biology texts only give cursory
information on a small range of parasites while most clinical
texts concentrate on a few of the most serious parasitic diseases
of medical and veterinary significance. At the other end of
the spectrum, there are many specialist texts dealing exclusively
with individual parasitic groups and the information presented
can be overwhelming to students. This electronic resource
was designed in an attempt to find some common middle ground
between the generalist and specialist texts available.
This resource has a distinctly Australian flavour as it was
based on published accounts of parasites in Australian hosts
(host-parasite checklists, parasite-host checklists and associated
bibliographies are attached). This does not mean that the
resource is only pertinent to students of Australian parasitology
but rather that locally available parasites are used as examples.
In many cases, the parasites are cosmopolitan species which
are found worldwide (particularly in humans and their domestic
and companion animals) whereas other examples are restricted
to endemic species found only in Australia (especially in
our unique native animals). Other parasite species do not
occur naturally in Australia but are introduced as unwanted
guests in international travellers, imported livestock or
zoo animals. Knowledge of all these different parasites is
essential for their differential diagnosis, treatment and
control.
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