Why are protozoan caused diseases so much more difficult to treat than bacterial caused diseases?

Answer 1

Depends on the protist involved. For example, amebiasis and trichomoniasis are all protozoan infections, but they're easily cured with Flagyl. However, malaria is also a protist, and it is a tough one to curb.

Likewise, there are plenty of simple bacterial infections that are easily vanquished with the right dose of penicillin. But then there are antibiotic resistant bugs that won't go without one heck of a fight.

anyway, I suspect that's not what your homework question is getting at. The real gist of it is the mechanism by which you kill the microorganism. For example, some antibiotics work by inhibiting the growth of bacterial cell walls. Well, if you have a microorganism without a cell wall, that drug ain't gonna work. Or you might have a drug that targets a certain eukaryotic structure (thus targeting protists over bacteria), but you're eukaryotic, too, to the drug might accidentally target your cell structures, causing severe toxicity and complications.

Answer 2

There is medication which is being used extensively in Asia and Africa for protozoan infections which is effective, cheap, and no side effects: Artemisia Annua