GLOSSARY
AIDS—Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome—a disease of the human immune system that is characterized
cytologically especially by reduction in the numbers of CD4-bearing helper T
cells to 20 percent or less of normal rendering the subject highly vulnerable
to life-threatening conditions (as Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia) and to some
that become life-threatening (as Kaposi's sarcoma) and that is caused by
infection with HIV commonly transmitted in infected blood and bodily secretions
(as semen) especially during illicit intravenous drug use and sexual
intercourse.
Endemic—prevalent
in or peculiar to a particular locality, region, or people.
Enteric—relating to the intestines.
HAART—Highly Active
Anti-retroviral Therapy—a combination of reverse transcriptase inhibitors and
protease inhibitors which suppresses the HIV virus, but does not clear the
virus from the patient’s body.**
Oocyst—a thick-walled
structure in which sporozoan zygotes develop and that serves to transfer them
to new hosts.*
Protozoa—any of a phylum or subkingdom (Protozoa)
of chiefly motile and heterotrophic unicellular protists (as amoebas,
trypanosomes, sporozoans, and paramecia) that are represented in almost every kind
of habitat and include some pathogenic parasites of humans and domestic
animals.
Sporozoite—Any
of the minute undeveloped sporozoans produced by multiple fission of a zygote
or spore, especially at the stage just before it infects a new host cell.*
Zoonotic—communicable from animals to
humans under normal conditions.
(All
definitions are from Merriam-Webster Dictionary except *from American Heritage
Dictionary and **from National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease)