According to the WHO, every year one in two people on the planet is infected with helminths. Many people think that parasitic worms are not very harmful to health. However, not everything is so simple: helminths can infect important internal organs: heart, lungs, brain.
Helminths: who are they?
Helminths are parasitic worms that can choose the body of a person, animal, or plant as a host. There are three classes of helminths in total:
- you had.This class includes about 3, 5 thousand types of helminths. The length of the parasitic worms varies from a few mm to 10-15 meters;
- flukes.Parasites got their name due to the presence of suckers, with the help of which they receive nutrients. The human body can infect about 4 dozen species of trematodes. As a general rule, the length of the worms does not exceed 5 cm;
- round worms.This class of helminths has more than 24 thousand species. Roundworms are spindle-shaped. Usually its length does not exceed 0. 5 meters.
You can become infected with helminths in a number of ways. However, parasitic invasion occurs most frequently for the following reasons:
- Poor hand hygiene.
- Unwashed vegetables, fruits; Undercooked or undercooked meat and fish: the use of these products many times increases the risk of parasitic infestation.
- Keep open food out of the refrigerator. Insects are capable of transferring helminth eggs to food that is stored without packaging.
- Contact with pets.
The main symptoms of the presence of parasites in the body:
- nausea, vomiting, diarrhea;
- weightloss;
- allergic rashes;
- swelling
- itching in the anus;
- grinding your teeth in a dream.
What helminths are most common in Russia? Consider the most common types of parasitic worms and the diseases they cause.
You had
The body of the tapeworm consists of limbs, the total number of which varies from 3 to 5000. The main element of fixation of the helminth is the head, the additional ones are suction cups, hooks.
The most common causes of tapeworms are:
- diphyllobothriasis;
- teniarinhoses;
- taeniasis
Diphyllobothriasis
The causative agent of the disease is a broad tapeworm that affects the human intestine. The development of worm eggs occurs in fresh water. The scheme of the tapeworm that enters the human body is as follows:
- The worm's eggs are swallowed by the crustaceans that live in the reservoir.
- The fish eat the infected crustaceans.
- A person becomes infected with a parasite by eating fish that has not undergone sufficient heat treatment.
The symptomatology of the disease develops 1, 5 months after infection. The main sign of pathology is the presence of whitish fragments of helminths in the stool.
By adhering to the intestinal mucosa, tapeworms absorb a large amount of vitamin B12. For this reason, people with diphyllobothriasis often develop anemia. Also, tapeworm can cause an increase in liver, spleen, intestinal obstruction.
Teniarinhoz
The causative agent of the disease is the bovine tapeworm, which lives predominantly in the human small intestine. During its development cycle, the helminth replaces two hosts: the intermediate one is cattle, the main one is man. The bovine tapeworm can live in the body for 20 years, multiplying and causing damage to health.
Generally, people develop teniarinhoses after eating undercooked or undercooked beef.
The disease often progresses without pronounced symptoms and is caught by chance when a person sees elements of helminths in their stool. In some people, in addition to the main signs of helminth infection, the pain syndrome can occur on the right side of the anterior abdominal wall.
Adult helminths can penetrate the appendix, the pancreatic duct, the biliary tract, causing acute inflammatory processes in them. With multiple parasitic infestations, an intestinal obstruction can develop.
Teniosis
The causative agent of the disease is the pork tapeworm, which initially affects the human small intestine. Human infection is caused by eating raw or undercooked pork.
The parasite can penetrate various organs and tissues, causing pain in the abdomen, back, and extremities. The pathology is most favorable when the worm is localized in subcutaneous fat and skeletal muscle tissue. When the worms penetrate the muscles of the eye, they cause a decrease in visual acuity, tearing and photophobia. The defeat of the pig chain of the brain can be fatal.
Pacifiers
Trematodes are leaf-shaped and have a high ability to reproduce at different periods of the life cycle. The reproduction of worms is possible not only sexually with fertilization, but also without it. In addition to suckers, worms have many hooks and spines, so they reliably attach to the mucous membranes of organs.
Common pathologies caused by trematodes:
- fascioliasis;
- opisthorchiasis;
- paragonimiasis.
Fascioliasis
Fascioliasis occurs when the liver or gallbladder is damaged by a liver parasite. Basically, the infection occurs when eating vegetables, for which water from open reservoirs was used.
In addition to the standard signs of parasite infection, a person may experience asthma attacks, which are accompanied by shortness of breath, facial flushing, dilated pupils, and rapid heartbeat. If an adult has caused obstruction of the bile ducts, obstructive jaundice develops. Signs of pathology:
- colic in the right hypochondrium;
- yellowing of the skin;
- fever;
- colorless stools.
Opisthorchiasis
The causative agent of the disease is a feline fluke. The name of the parasite is due to the fact that, in addition to humans, it usually infects cats and other mammals that eat fish.
As a general rule, the feline parasite affects the liver and pancreas, causing inflammation in the organs. The symptoms are varied and depend on the number of parasites. The patient may experience:
- symptoms of intoxication;
- fever;
- urticaria;
- skin itch;
- pain in muscles, joints, right upper quadrant.
In some cases, helminths provoke an increase in lymph nodes, the development of jaundice. The chronic form of pathology often leads to hepatitis, liver cirrhosis.
Paragonimiasis
The culprit of the disease is a lung fluke, which enters the human body with infected crustaceans.
First, the parasite enters the human intestine, then the abdominal cavity. The end point of your journey is the lung tissue. In addition, the worm can penetrate the brain and affect the central nervous system.
Specific signs of parasitic invasion of the lungs:
- Chest pain;
- coughing up phlegm, which may contain pus and blood;
- fever.
In some cases, helminths cause a violation of the ventilation function of the lungs and gas exchange during respiration.
Round worms
Due to their structure, roundworms (nematodes) can survive even in extreme conditions. Its body is covered with a three-layer musculocutaneous sac, which reliably protects parasites from external influences.
Common diseases caused by nematodes:
- ascariasis;
- enterobiasis;
- trichinosis.
Ascariasis
The development of the disease provokes ascaris, which initially fixes in the small intestine. The average length of adults is 40 cm. The larvae of the parasite can enter the human digestive system with unwashed vegetables and fruits, contaminated water. In addition, poorly washed hands before eating are often the cause of ascariasis.
During the penetration of the larvae into the human body, a subfebrile temperature, allergic rashes and cough with the release of clear sputum can be observed. Signs of the intestinal stage of ascariasis (diarrhea, abdominal pain) are observed only in the presence of various parasites. As a general rule, living in the intestines of a worm is asymptomatic.
Complications with multiple parasitic infestations:
- bile duct blockage;
- purulent inflammatory processes in the gallbladder, liver;
- inflammation of the appendix;
- intestinal obstruction.
Enterobiasis
The provocateurs of the disease are pinworms, small worms up to 1 cm long, which penetrate the human digestive system in the same way as round worms.
Currently, enterobiasis is the most common parasitic disease in the world. Basically, the disease is diagnosed in children under the age of 10.
Symptoms, as in previous cases, develop only with multiple parasitic infestations. Children often have diarrhea, mucus in the stool, difficult and painful digestion, itchy anus, and nausea. With a severe course of the disease, limb cramps can occur. Also, pinworms can penetrate the genitals and cause acute inflammation in them.
Trichinosis
This disease causes Trichinella, one of the smallest parasitic worms. The length of the parasite rarely exceeds 4 mm. In the larval stage, the worms can infect skeletal muscles. The exception is the myocardium, the muscle tissue of the heart. Adults parasitize the small intestine.
As a general rule, human infection occurs from eating half-baked pork. At the same time, for the development of the disease, it is enough to consume only 30 g of meat affected by parasites.
The pathology is manifested by the standard symptoms of parasitic invasion. At an advanced stage, swelling of the eyelids, face, arms and legs, pain in the lower back, chewing muscles may occur. Possible complications are total or partial loss of mobility, paralysis of the airways.
How to avoid helminth infestation?
To reduce the risk of becoming infected with parasitic worms, it is important to follow these guidelines:
- Wash your hands well before eating, after visiting the street, public places.
- Observe the correct technology for cooking meat, fish. The heat treatment of meat and fish products should last at least 20 minutes.
- Do not eat dried or dried fish.
- Perform pet deworming.
- Get tested regularly, even if you don't have any pathological signs. The most common diagnostic methods are gross and microscopic examination of stool. The first method allows you to detect adults, the second - eggs and larvae of worms.