Human Parasitic Diseases - Causes, Symptoms And Treatment

2024 Author: Josephine Shorter | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-07 17:49

Human parasitic diseases

Human parasitic diseases are a separate group of diseases, all of which are provoked by parasitic unicellular and multicellular organisms. The most common parasites are worms (helminths), followed by arthropods (these are insects and ticks). Otherwise, parasitic diseases are called invasive diseases or simply invasions.

Parasites can be temporary or permanent. Their life cycle is very complex; in some cases, to form a full-fledged individual, the parasite needs to change three hosts.

Invasive diseases are very dangerous for human health. Parasites are capable of causing mechanical damage to the host's body, poisoning it with their metabolic products, provoking the development of allergic reactions, feeding on human blood, and having a negative effect on the course of other diseases.

Parasitic infestations are widespread. According to the WHO, every fourth inhabitant of the Earth is a carrier of this or that parasite. Intestinal helminthiases are among the most dangerous diseases, it is believed that they occupy the 4th place in damage to human health in comparison with other pathologies. Only tuberculosis, ischemic heart disease and diarrhea are the most prevalent of parasitic infestations.

One of the striking features of parasitic diseases is that the pathogen can live in the human body for a long time (if there is no treatment) and cause re-infection.

Content:

• Causative agents of parasitic diseases
• Symptoms of parasitic diseases
• List of parasitic diseases
• Treatment of parasitic diseases
• Prevention of parasitic diseases

Causative agents of parasitic diseases

The main causative agents of parasitic diseases are worms that provoke helminthiases.

Taking into account the type of parasite, the following types of helminthiases are distinguished:

• Trematodes, helminthiases provoked by flukes: pulmonary fluke, hepatic fluke, cat fluke, schistosomes, clonorchus.

• Nematodes - roundworm infestations. The source of infection is a person. Among all types of helminthiasis, nematodes are most common. They are caused by the following pathogens: roundworms, pinworms, whipworms, toxocaras, trichinella.
• Cestodosis - invasions of tapeworms, including bovine tapeworm (tapeworm or unarmed tapeworm), pork tapeworm (armed tapeworm), dwarf tapeworm, broad tapeworm, echinococcus and alveococcus.

In addition to helminths, the causative agents of parasitic diseases are:

• Protozoan or protozoan organisms, including lamblia, malaria plasmodia, toxoplasma, Trichomonas, etc.
• Ectoparasites, including lice (pubic, head and body lice), bugs and ticks.
• Other parasites: mosquito larvae, fly larvae, sand fleas.

Symptoms of parasitic diseases

The symptoms of parasitic diseases are often blurred. They may be absent altogether for many years, or they may appear acutely.

The main signs of parasitic infestation are:

• Allergic reactions. Mostly they proceed as urticaria.
• Increased body temperature. Sometimes the patient has a fever. As a rule, a body temperature of 38-40 ° C is typical for the acute stage of the disease, or it rises to such high levels with the development of complications of parasitic invasion. In the overwhelming majority of cases, a person either maintains a normal body temperature, or it rises to subfebrile levels. Therefore, the most significant sign that allows one to suspect a parasitic invasion is the subfebrile body temperature that persists for a long time.

• Lymphadenitis is another common symptom of parasitic diseases. It manifests itself in inflammation of the lymph nodes. They can grow and become painful one at a time or in groups. At the same time, an infected person develops headaches, appetite worsens, he experiences general malaise. Most often, regional lymph nodes are inflamed, that is, those that are located in the immediate vicinity of the source of infection. Parasitic damage to the lymph nodes themselves is not excluded.
• Arthralgia and myalgia. Muscle and joint pain is most often the result of immunological reactions. The fact is that the immune system perceives parasites as foreign objects and begins to attack them. Muscles and joints can ache because they contain parasite larvae, or because of the general inflammatory response of the body. In addition, pain can be the result of damage to muscle or joint tissue by the jaws or suckers of parasites.

• Pulmonary syndrome often occurs in people with parasitic infestations. It manifests itself in a prolonged debilitating cough. The patient may experience shortness of breath, chest pain. With some invasions, for example, with ascariasis, a person develops eosinophilic pleurisy, hemoptysis may occur.

  

• Edema is often observed in infected people (for example, with trichinosis and with trichocephalosis). They can spread throughout the body, and can only affect the limbs and face. Quincke's edema is especially dangerous.
• Abdominal syndrome is relevant for parasitic invasion. It manifests itself in the alternation of constipation and diarrhea, flatulence, nausea and belching. Sometimes vomiting may occur.
• Abdominal pains are of the most diverse nature, they can be sharp, persistent, mild and cramping.
• With long-term parasitic invasion, the patient develops intoxication syndrome with increasing weakness, with a tendency to frequent infectious diseases, with loss of body weight, etc.
• Astheno-neurological disorders are characteristic: sleep problems, frequent crying and waking up at night, irritability, teeth grinding in sleep, convulsions, headaches, dizziness.
• Skin diseases are becoming more frequent: psoriasis, seborrhea, acne, atopic dermatitis. The condition of hair and nails worsens, their fragility increases, shine disappears, etc.
• From the genitourinary and excretory systems, there are frequent relapses of vulvitis, vulvovaginitis, urethritis, proctitis.

Patients with parasitic invasion become more prone to colds, they often have gingivitis, stomatitis and other diseases indicating a weakened immune system.

List of parasitic diseases

Helminthiasis, which are provoked by various worms:

• Ankylostomosis;
• Ascariasis;
• Anisakidosis;
• Gnathostomosis;
• Diphyllobothriasis;
• Clonorchiasis;
• Opisthorchiasis;
• Sparganosis;
• Teniarinhoz;
• Cestodosis;
• Schistosomiasis (Japanese, Asian, genitourinary, Manson);
• Enterobiasis;
• Echinostomosis.

Diseases provoked by protozoal organisms:

• Amoebiasis;
• Isosporosis;
• Giardiasis;
• Leishmaniasis;
• Malaria;
• Rhinosporidiosis;
• Sleeping sickness;
• Toxoplasmosis;
• Trichomoniasis, etc.

Diseases provoked by ectoparasites:

• Pediculosis;
• Demodectic mange;
• Cochliomyasis;
• Scabies.

Diseases provoked by other parasites:

• Miases;
• Lingvatulosis;
• Dermatobiasis.

Treatment of parasitic diseases

Treatment of parasitic diseases is reduced to taking antiparasitic drugs.

The drug is selected based on three fundamental principles:

• Possibility of destruction of larvae (larvicidal effect).
• Possibility of destroying eggs (ovicidal effect).
• Possibility of killing adults (vermicidal effect).

After the completion of the antiparasitic course, a control study is mandatory to determine whether a therapeutic effect has been achieved.

It is important to take into account the form of helminthiasis, the phase of the disease, the patient's age, the presence of concomitant pathologies. It should be remembered that all anthelmintic drugs have a toxic effect on the body not only of worms, but also of humans. Therefore, the doctor should pick them up.

Modern drugs for the treatment of helminthiasis:

• Levamisole (Decaris).
• Albendazole (Nemozole).
• Mebendazole (Vermox, Wormin, etc.).
• Pirantel (Nemocid, Helmintox, etc.).
• Piperazine.
• Carbendacim (Medamin).
• Pyrvinium embonate (Pircon, Vanquin, etc.).
• Niclosamide (Fenasal);
• Mepakrine (Akrikhin);
• Praziquantel (Cesol, Azinox, etc.).
• Bithionol, Chloxil and others.

In order for deworming to be successful, all family members must be treated: both adults and children. In some cases, therapy of entire groups is indicated, and the patient himself is subject to dispensary registration. Repeated deworming of the patient is carried out as necessary.

Often antihistamines are included in the treatment regimen, detoxification therapy is carried out, glucocorticosteroids are prescribed. Severe forms of parasitic diseases require surgical intervention.

Read more: effective treatment of parasites in children and adults

Prevention of parasitic diseases

Prevention of parasitic diseases is reduced to compliance with the following recommendations:

• First of all, you must follow the rules of personal hygiene. This includes washing hands before eating, after each trip to the toilet, after visiting public places and after contact with animals.
• All food must be properly processed. Fruits and vegetables, herbs and berries should be rinsed with running water and, as necessary, soaked in disinfectant solutions (for example, in a soda solution).
• Meat and fish must be thermally processed.
• The water should be boiled.
• If there are pets in the house, then they need to conduct prophylactic antiparasitic courses. The pet's toilet and eating area must be kept clean. Hands should be washed after each contact with an animal.
• The room should be regularly damp cleaned.
• When working with the ground, wear gloves.
• When traveling to tropical and subtropical countries, you should worry in advance about going through the prevention of helminthiasis with pills, if there are risks of invasion (the doctor should prescribe drugs).

These are the main measures for the prevention of parasitic diseases, which will allow you to maximally protect yourself and your loved ones from possible invasion.

Author of the article: Danilova Tatyana Vyacheslavovna | Infectionist

Education: in 2008 received a diploma in General Medicine (General Medicine) at the Pirogov Russian Research Medical University. Immediately passed an internship and received a diploma of a therapist