Protozoa (kingdom Protista) are single-cell organisms that can be free-living or parasitic in nature (Baron, 1996). Out of more than 50 000 protozoan species that have been described to-date, relatively few have been identified as major contributors to the global burden of human diseases (Kuris, 2012) and animal agriculture (Dubey, 1977). The protozoa represent 19% of all human parasites (83 out of 437 species to-date) and are associated with 30% of parasite-induced human morbidity-mortality (Kuris, 2012).