Why is it that you have referred to the Trypanosome as a ‘monster’? Is it due to its appearence, what it does or

Question: Why is it that you have referred to the Trypanosome as a 'monster'? Is it due to its appearence, what it does or something completely different? I have never heard of this parasite before so im interested to know more :-)
- Keywords:
  microorganism,
  preference,
  research
Asked by tawnijade15 to Divya on 11 Mar 2014.
- Divya Venkatesh answered on 11 Mar 2014:
  
  Hi Jade!(if I may call you that) Thanks for the question. I think the trypanosome can look quite beautiful actually , but I called it a monster because it causes such a deadly disease.
  
  Trypanosomes face the full force of our body’s defences (called immune responses) but manage to confuse it by changing the proteins they show on the surface to a slightly different one every once in a while. Our immune system ends up chasing the wrong thing and has to start a new response all over again – tiring us out.
  
  This video explains it quite well I think:
  http://www.discoveryfitandhealth.com/tv-shows/specials/videos/monsters-inside-me-trypanosoma.htm
  
  Let me know if you’d to know something specific about them or if something needs explaining 🙂

Question: Why is it that you have referred to the Trypanosome as a 'monster'? Is it due to its appearence, what it does or something completely different? I have never heard of this parasite before so im interested to know more :-)