Nowadays, diseases caused by many types of protozoa and worms are widespread. The risk of such diseases is explained not only by the complications and disorders of the body that protozoa and worms lead to in humans, but also by the complexity of diagnosing the disease due to the similarity of symptoms to various non-parasitic diseases.
Helminths and protozoa are caused by:
- gastrointestinal disorders (constipation, diarrhea, vomiting);
- allergic skin reactions;
- general intoxication of the body;
- muscle and joint pain;
- dehydration.
In order to avoid diagnostic error and the designation of inappropriate treatment, which is simply ineffective at best and can cause complications at worst, the type of helminths and the extent of infection must be precisely determined. about the body with them.
Methods of infection with protozoan helminths
All worms enter the body from the outside. The same is true with the simplest helm patterns. They live in the soil, in water bodies. In addition to consuming poor quality products, unwashed hands can also become infected through contact with a carrier at home.
The main mechanism of all infections is most often oral-fecal, meaning that a person simply swallows the worm's eggs with food and water, and it is less common for some helminthic infections to occur when infected insects are bitten.
The simplest worms in humans belong to the class of unicellulars. The infection is called protozosis. Depending on the type and extent of the invasion, the course of the disease can be severe and can even cause the patient to die.
What kind of helminths are called protozoa?
The body of the simplest helminths may have a constant shape (cilia and flagella) and a variable body - a bright representative of the amoeba. Their dimensions are very small, ranging from 4-5 micrometers to 1-3 millimeters. The cell of these microorganisms often has several nuclei. Pseudopodia, cilia and flagella act as locomotor organs. The reproductive process takes place, depending on the species, by division or by a complex sexual method.
In order to protect against unfavorable external conditions as well as for further spread, the simplest helminth samples can be transformed into cysts, which are cells covered with a protective membrane. This allows them to move from an immobile cyst to an active state when placed in a favorable environment.
There are often situations where the carrier's body does not even notice the simplest helminth patterns in it. In other cases, the invasion leads to the death of the farmer. For example, some African antelope species are permanent "hosts" of trypanosomatids. And a human bite of a cetacean carrying these helminths can infect them and cause drowsiness, which is known to be life-threatening.
The most studied protozoan helminths
Parasites of the flagellate class in the human body:
- Giardia is a parasite that usually lives in the intestines, bile ducts, and liver of vertebrates (humans and animals). They can be spread through food, water and other factors. This protozoan group causes a disease such as giardiasis - a functional disorder of the gastrointestinal tract, namely the small intestine. Many Giardia-infected patients do not experience any obvious symptoms.
- Leishmania is the simplest mosquitoes distributed by mosquitoes. After an insect bite, a person is more likely to get leishmaniasis. Signs of the disease include damage to the skin, mucous membranes and some internal organs, often with fever and anemia.
- Trypanosomatids are protozoa transmitted by insects. When infected, they cause trypanosomiasis. This disease has a long course. Depending on the type of trypanosomatids, different systems and organs are involved.
- Amoeba dysentery parasites in the intestines. The invasion is performed in the form of a 4-nuclear cyst. Although dysentery amoeba is found almost everywhere, the most common cases of infections are recorded in tropical countries. Amoeba is the cause of an infectious protozoan disease in humans such as amoebiasis. The clinical picture of the disease is ulcerative colitis, characterized by relapses and exacerbations. There are also cases of the intestinal form of amebiasis - these protozoan helminths get from the intestines to other organs and even the skin. The last form of the disease is called amebiasis of the skin - there are obvious ulcerative-necrotic signs in the buttocks and perineum.
- Trichomonas causes trichomoniasis. Currently, several subspecies of Trichomonas have been studied. An intestine whose parasitic area is in the colon and the intestinal worm does not cause much damage to the intestines. The area of the genitourinary parasite Trichomonas, as the name implies - the urinary system. The infection is sexually transmitted. This subspecies of protozoan is the cause of a disease such as trichomoniasis. This infectious disease is manifested by inflammation of the urogenital system. Oral Trichomonas parasitizes the oral cavity and poses no danger to humans.
The sporophyte species of protozoa are represented by malaria plasmodium and coccidia:
- Malaria-causing malaria Plasmodium is the simplest microorganism transmitted by mosquitoes. It parasitizes the blood. Malaria infected with this parasite presents with the following symptoms: hypochromic anemia, febrile seizures, enlargement of organs such as the liver and spleen.
- Coccidia are protozoa that live in the intestinal epithelium of many animals. Many types of coccidia cause diseases such as coccidiosis. In humans, this disease occurs with mild poisoning and gastroenteritis or enteritis.
Chilies: balantidia. Such detachment of protozoa in the colon is the cause of a disease such as infantile hemorrhage (balantidiasis).
Diagnosis and treatment of protozoan helminth samples
Very often, when the presence of helminths in the body occurs without symptoms, the disease is not diagnosed for a long time. The invasion can be suspected with specific symptoms and can only be detected by examining laboratory feces, urine, blood, and fluids obtained from various organs and systems.
There are general principles in medical practice for treating protozoal invasion:
- antiparasitic agents;
- non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs;
- detoxifying drugs;
- with the occurrence of secondary bacterial infection, narrowly targeted antibiotics.
Specific treatment is prescribed by your doctor, depending on the type of protozoan helminth and the extent of the invasion.