''Isospora'' is a genus of internal

parasite Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson h ...

s in the subclass

Coccidia Coccidia (Coccidiasina) are a subclass of microscopic, spore-forming, single-celled obligate intracellular parasites belonging to the apicomplexan class Conoidasida. As obligate intracellular parasites, they must live and reproduce within an a ...

. It is responsible for the condition isosporiasis, which causes acute, non-bloody diarrhoea in immunocompromised individuals.

Taxonomy

At least 248 species were originally described in this genus. For instance, the

house sparrow The house sparrow (''Passer domesticus'') is a bird of the Old World sparrow, sparrow family Passeridae, found in most parts of the world. It is a small bird that has a typical length of and a mass of . Females and young birds are coloured pale ...

has 12 species of ''Isospora''. However, most species are little studied, and some authors doubt whether all should be recognized as distinct species. In 2005, all former ''Isospora'' species that infect mammalian hosts were reclassified as members of the genus '' Cystoisospora'', a member of the Sarcocystidae family.

References

External links

* Apicomplexa genera Conoidasida {{Apicomplexa-stub