<unk>  is a genus of kinetoplastids (class<unk> tidae), a monophyletic group of unicellular parasitic flagellate protozoa.<unk>  is part of the phylum Sarcomastigophora. The name is derived from the Greek trypano- (borer) and soma (body) because of their corkscrew-like motion. Most<unk> s are heteroxenous (requiring more than one obligatory host to complete life cycle) and most are transmitted via a vector. The majority of species are transmitted by blood-feeding invertebrates, but there are different mechanisms among the varying species. Some, such as<unk>  equiperdum, are spread by direct contact. In an invertebrate host they are generally found in the intestine, but normally occupy the bloodstream or an intracellular environment in the vertebrate host.<unk> s infect a variety of hosts and cause various diseases, including the fatal human diseases sleeping sickness, caused by<unk>  brucei, and Chagas disease, caused by<unk>  cruzi. The mitochondrial genome of the<unk> , as well as of other kinetoplastids, known as the kinetoplast, is made up of a highly complex series of catenated circles and minicircles and requires a cohort of proteins for organisation during cell division.
Trypanosoma
Leishmania
Echinostoma
Plasmodium
Schistosoma
Anorchia
Microfilaria
Elizabethkingia