malaria and african sleeping sickness
Three diseases common in Africa that Europeans had no immunity to were malaria, yellow fever, and sleeping sickness.
Protozoans, which are eukaryotic single-celled organisms, are the cause of a number of diseases in humans. The better known ones are malaria and sleeping sickness. A link can be found below to check facts and learn about some others less well known illness caused by protozoans.
Protists
All the diseases, which are mentioned above are caused by protozoa.
Bilharzia Malaria Sleeping Sickness
Amoeba: A common unicellular protozoan that moves and feeds using pseudopods. Paramecium: A ciliated protozoan with a characteristic slipper-like shape. Trypanosoma: A parasitic protozoan that causes diseases like sleeping sickness and Chagas disease. Plasmodium: A protozoan parasite responsible for causing malaria in humans. Giardia: A flagellated protozoan that can cause gastrointestinal issues in humans and other animals.
Examples of human diseases caused by protozoa: malaria, amoebias , giardiasis , toxoplasmosis , cryptosporidiosis, trichomoniasis , leishmaniasis , sleeping sickness , dysentery,
Some protozoans are harmful to animals because they are parasites. They either feed directly off of the animal or cause disease in the animal. Malaria and sleeping sickness are two diseases caused by protists.
Sleeping Sickness and malaria
Most protists are parasitic in nature, so after they invade a host, they will continue to thrive off the host's body until expelled by treatment, or the host dies. Some diseases caused by protists are Malaria, African Sleeping Sickness, and Amoebic Dysentery.
In the savanna, several diseases affect both wildlife and humans. Notable zoonotic diseases include malaria, transmitted by mosquitoes, and sleeping sickness, caused by the tsetse fly. Additionally, livestock can suffer from diseases like anthrax and foot-and-mouth disease, which can impact local economies. The presence of these diseases is often linked to environmental factors and wildlife interactions.