Today, diseases caused by many species of protozoa and helminths are widespread. The danger of such diseases is explained not only by complications and malfunctions in the body caused by protozoa and worms 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:
- disorders of the gastrointestinal tract (constipation, diarrhea, vomiting);
- allergic skin reactions;
- general intoxication of the body;
- muscle and joint pain;
- dehydration.
In order to avoid a diagnostic error and the appointment of an inadequate course of treatment, which at best will simply be ineffective, and at worst can cause complications, it is necessary to accurately determine the type of helminths and the degree of infection of the body. with them.
Ways of infection with protozoan helminths
All worms enter the body from the outside. It is the same with the simplest helminths. In the environment they live in the soil, water bodies. In addition to unwashed hands, eating poor quality products, you can get infected with them at home, through contact with a carrier.
The main mechanism of any infection is most often oral-fecal, ie a person simply swallows the worm's eggs along with food, water, some helminthic infestations are less common when bitten by infected insects.
The simplest worms that live in humans belong to the class of unicellular organisms. The infection is called protozoa. Depending on the type and extent of the invasion, the course of the disease can be severe, even causing the patient's death.
What helminths are called protozoa?
The simplest helminths can have a body with a constant shape (lashes and flagella) and variable - a bright representative of the amoeba. Their dimensions are very small and range from 4-5 micrometers to 1-3 millimeters. Often the cell of these microorganisms has several nuclei. The pseudopodia, cilia and flagella act as organs of movement. The process of reproduction, depending on the species, takes place by division in half or by a complex sexual method.
To protect themselves from adverse external conditions, as well as for further spread, the simplest helminths can turn into cysts, which are cells that are covered with a protective membrane. This allows them to transform from a stationary cyst into an active state if they enter a favorable environment.
There are frequent situations when the carrier's body does not even notice the simplest helminths that parasitize in it. In other cases, the invasion results in the death of the host. For example, some species of antelope in Africa are permanent "masters" of trypanosomatids. And a human bite from the tsetse fly, which carries these helminths, can infect them and cause a sleeping sickness that is known to be life-threatening.
The most studied protozoan helminths
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 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 are the simplest helminths transmitted by mosquitoes. After an insect bite, 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 become signs of the disease.
- 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 affected.
- Amoeba dysentery parasitizes the intestines. The invasion takes the form of a 4-nucleus cyst. Although dysenteric amoeba is found almost everywhere, the most common cases of infection are registered in tropical countries. The amoeba is the cause of such an infectious protozoan disease in humans as amoebiasis. The clinical picture of the disease is ulcerative colitis, which is characterized by recurrences and exacerbations. There are also cases of extraintestinal form of amoebiasis - these protozoan helminths pass from the intestine to other organs and even to the skin. The last form of the disease is called amoebiasis of the skin - on the buttocks and in the perineum there are obvious ulcerative-necrotic signs.
- Trichomonas causes trichomoniasis. Several subspecies of Trichomonas are currently being studied. Intestinal, the area of parasitism of which is in the colon and helminths do not cause much damage to the intestine. The area of parasitism of the urogenital trichomonas, as the name implies - the genitourinary system. Infection occurs sexually. This subspecies of protozoa is the cause of a disease such as trichomoniasis. This infectious disease is manifested by inflammation of the genitourinary system. Oral Trichomonas parasitizes in the oral cavity, does not pose a danger to humans.
The sporophytic species of protozoa is represented by Plasmodium falciparum and coccidia:
- Plasmodium falciparum, transmitted by mosquitoes and causing malaria, is the simplest microorganism. Parasitizes in the blood. Malaria when infected with this parasite manifests itself with the following symptoms: hypochromic anemia, attacks of fever, enlargement of organs such as the liver and spleen.
- Coccidia are protozoa that live in the intestinal epithelial tissue of many animals. Many types of coccidia are the cause of such a disease as coccidiosis. In humans, this disease occurs with mild intoxication and gastroenteritis or enteritis.
Eyelashes: balantidia. This secretion of protozoa living in the colon is the cause of such a disease as infusional dysentery (balantidiasis).
Diagnosis and treatment of protozoan helminths
Very often, when the presence of helminths in the body is asymptomatic, the disease is not diagnosed for a long time. Invasion can be suspected by specific symptoms, and it can be detected only with the help of laboratory tests of feces, urine, blood, fluids obtained by puncture of various organs and systems.
In medical practice there are general principles for the treatment of protozoan invasion:
- antiparasitic drugs;
- non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs;
- detoxification drugs;
- with the manifestation of secondary bacterial infection, narrowly targeted antibiotics.
Specific treatment is prescribed by a physician based on the type of protozoan helminth and the degree of invasion.