''Chilomastix mesnili'' is a non-pathogenic
member of primate
gastrointestinal microflora, commonly associated with but not causing parasitic infections. It is found in about 3.5% of the population in the
United States. In addition to
humans, ''Chilomastix'' is found in
chimpanzee
The chimpanzee (''Pan troglodytes''), also known as simply the chimp, is a species of great ape native to the forest and savannah of tropical Africa. It has four confirmed subspecies and a fifth proposed subspecies. When its close relative th ...
s,
orangutans,
monkey
Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as the simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes, which constitutes an incomple ...
s, and
pigs. It lives in the
cecum and
colon. ''C. mesnili'' has a similar life style to ''
Giardia lamblia''.
Although ''Chilomastix mesnili'' is considered non-pathogenic, it often occurs with other parasite infections. ''C. mesnili'' may be confused with other
pathogenic species during diagnosis. It can create a
false positive which would result in unnecessary treatment or a false negative which would withhold necessary treatment. It contain mainly two life forms trophozoite and cyst. trophozoites are pear shaped.and it contain round oval nucleus is situated anteriorly and by its side lies the conspicuous mouth (cystosome). The posterior extremity is drawn out to a fine point. There are the large long anterior free flagella and the fourth one is short and lies within the cystosome. There are no undulating membrane and axostyle. The cyst are lemons shaped with a small projection at the anterior end. The single nucleus lies near the centre. Remnants of buccal appartus is also visible.
References
2. Parasitology book by K . D CHATTERJEE ( twelfth edition)
Sources
*Schmidt, G. and Roberts, L. 2005. Foundations of Parasitology (7th ed.), New York: McGraw-Hill
Metamonads
Protists described in 1910
Metamonad species
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