Today, diseases caused by various types of protozoa and helminths are widespread. The danger of such diseases is explained not only by complications and damage in the body, which protozoa and worms lead in humans, but also by the complexity of diagnosing the disease due to the similarity of symptoms with various non -parasitic diseases.
Helminths and protozoa cause:
- gastrointestinal tract damage (constipation, diarrhea, vomiting);
- allergic skin reactions;
- general intoxication of the body;
- muscle and joint pain;
- dehydration.
To avoid diagnostic errors and the appointment of an inadequate course of treatment, which, at best, will simply be ineffective, and at worst, can lead to complications, it is necessary to accurately determine the type of helminths and the degree of infection. body with them.
Ways of infection with protozoan helminths
All worms enter the body from the outside. The same goes for the simplest helminths. In the environment, they live in soil, bodies of water. In addition to unwashed hands, eating low -quality products, you can be infected with them at home, through contact with the carrier.
The main mechanism of any infection is most often oral-fecal, that is, a person simply swallows worm eggs along with food, water, less often some helminthic attacks occur when bitten by an infected insect.
The simplest worms that live in humans belong to the class of unicellular organisms. This infection is called protozoosis. Depending on the type and degree of invasion, the course of the disease can be severe, even resulting in the death of the patient.
What are helminths called protozoa?
The simplest helminths can have bodies of fixed shape (ciliates and flagellates) and the variable ones - representatives of bright amoebae. Their dimensions are very small and range from 4-5 micrometers to 1-3 millimeters. Often the cells of these microorganisms have several nuclei. Pseudopodia, cilia and flagella act as organs of movement. The process of reproduction, depending on the species, occurs by dividing in two or by complex sexual methods.
To protect themselves from adverse external conditions, as well as for further spread, helminths can most easily turn into cysts, which are cells covered with a protective membrane. This allows them to change from an immobile cyst to an active state if they enter a favorable environment.
There are frequent situations when the carrier body is unaware of the simplest helminths that are parasitic in it. In other cases, the intrusion leads to the death of the host. For example, some antelope species in Africa are trypanosomatid permanent "masters". And human bites from tsetse flies, which carry these helminths, can infect them and cause sleep disorders, which are known to be life -threatening.
Helminths are the most widely studied protozoa
Parasites in the human body that belong to the flagellate class:
- Giardia is a parasite that usually lives in the intestines, bile ducts, liver of vertebrates (humans and animals). They can be transmitted through food, water and other factors. This group of protozoa is the cause of diseases such as giardiasis - a dysfunction of the gastrointestinal tract, namely the small intestine. Many Giardia -infected patients do not experience any obvious symptoms.
- Leishmania are helminths most easily carried by mosquitoes. After being bitten by an insect, a person is more likely to get leishmaniasis. Signs of the disease are damage to the skin, mucous membranes and some internal organs, often fever and anemia are signs of the disease.
- Trypanosomatids are protozoa that are propagated by insects. When infected, they cause trypanosomiasis. The disease has a long journey. Depending on the type of trypanosomatid, various systems and organs are affected.
- Dysentery of the amoeba parasites the intestine. The invasion was performed in the form of a 4-nuclear cyst. Although dysentery amoeba is found almost everywhere, the most frequent cases of infection are recorded in tropical countries. Amoeba are the cause of infectious protozoan diseases in humans such as amoebiasis. The clinical picture of the disease is ulcerative colitis, which is characterized by recurrence and exacerbation. There are also cases of amebiasis an additional form of the intestine - this protozoa helminth migrates from the intestine to other organs and also to the skin. The last form of the disease is called cutaneous amebiasis-on the back and in the perineum, there are obvious ulcerative-necrotic signs.
- Trichomonas causes trichomoniasis. Currently, several subspecies of Trichomonas have been studied. The intestines, areas of parasitism that are in the large intestine and helminths do not bring much harm to the intestines. The area of parasitism Trichomonas genitourinary, as can be seen from its name - the genitourinary system. The infection is sexually transmitted. This subspecies of protozoa is the cause of diseases such as trichomoniasis. This infectious disease is indicated by inflammation in the genitourinary system. Trichomonas oral parasite in the oral cavity, does not pose a danger to humans.
Protozoan sporophyte species are represented by plasmodium malaria and coccidia:
- Plasmodium malaria, which is spread by mosquitoes and causes malaria, is the simplest microorganism. It's a parasite in the blood. Malaria in people infected with this parasite is indicated by the following symptoms: hypochromic anemia, fever attacks, enlargement of organs such as the liver and spleen.
- Coccidia are protozoa that live in the intestinal epithelial tissues of many animals. A number of species of coccidia are causative agents of diseases such as coccidiosis. In humans, the disease occurs with slight intoxication and the phenomenon of gastroenteritis or enteritis.
Ciliates: balantidia. Detachment of protozoa that live in the large intestine is the cause of diseases such as infusory dysentery (balantidiasis).
Diagnosis and treatment of protozoan helminths
Often, when the presence of helminths in the body occurs without symptoms, the disease is not diagnosed for a long time. Invasion can be suspected by certain symptoms, and it can be detected only with the help of laboratory tests of feces, urine, blood, fluids obtained through puncture of various organs and systems.
In medical practice, there are general principles for the treatment of protozoal invasion:
- antiparasitic drugs;
- non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs;
- drugs for detoxification;
- with manifestations of secondary bacterial infection, narrowly targeted antibiotics.
Specific treatment is prescribed by a doctor, based on the type of helminth protozoa and the degree of invasion.