Dientamoeba fragilis: 'The unflagellated human flagellate'

In the latest installment of the Parasites 101 series on the podcast, Parasitology teacher and author of Parasites: Tales of Humanity's Most Unwelcome Guests, Rosemary Drisdelle joined me to discuss the protozoan parasite, Dientamoeba fragilis. "The unflagellated human flagellate", D. fragilis is a pathogenic protozoan parasite with a world-wide distribution. Interestingly, a resistant cyst stage has not been demonstrated and it is unlikely that its trophozoites can survive successfully outside the human host. D. fragilis infection may be acute or chronic, and has been reported in both children and adults.