In nature, there are a huge number of living organisms that have adapted to lead a parasitic lifestyle. Moreover, they can live not only at the expense of animals, and many of them feel great in the human body. The whole trouble is that these parasites not only poison with the products of their vital functions, but also provoke the development of many diseases. Trichinosis also belongs to such. What is this, we will analyze further in the article.
Trichinosis is ...
This disease is contagious. Its carriers are Trichinella. These roundworms use the host to live and reproduce. Most often, trichinosis of animals, mainly carnivores, occurs. Bears, foxes, walruses, wild boars, wolves, horses are most susceptible to infection.
A person can easily catch this disease if he does not conduct the heat treatment of the meat of infected animals well enough.
Causative agents of the disease
The causative agents of the disease are small helminths of Trichinella spiralis, their body is covered with a strong cuticle on top. Sizes range from 1.2 mm to 4 mm. It can be noted that the female after fertilization becomes almost two times longer. The parasitic lifestyle of these worms has led to the fact that they have a special device in the form of a stylet for attachment in the intestines of the host. The greatest development in the body of all parasites reaches the reproductive system.
These parasitic worms are found all over the globe, except for Australia, but most often the disease (trichinosis) is diagnosed in the northern hemisphere. The disease among people is also more common in those places where there are large natural foci of these parasites.
Sources of infection for humans are domestic and wild animals affected by trichinosis.
Infection mechanism
People are quite susceptible to this disease, they only need 10-15 grams of infected meat to catch trichinosis. What is this, many have to explain. But lovers of meat with blood do not always believe that they can become masters of parasitic worms.
Infection can occur if you eat a little meat that is poorly cooked or fried. Fat can also become a source of the disease. Quite often, the infection is widespread, for example, children and adults, members of the same company who consumed infected meat, fall ill in the same family.
The larvae of the causative agents of this disease die only at a temperature of at least 80 degrees, so ordinary salting or smoking does not affect the viability of the worms.
Trichinella Life Cycle
These parasites belong to viviparous worms. Most often, parasitic organisms have the main host, where the adult worm lives, and the intermediate, in which the larva develops. For trichinella, it is one and the same organism. It can be many mammals, but not humans.
In the animal’s body, for example, if pig trichinosis is considered, adult worms live in the small intestine, and at the larval stage they prefer the striated muscles.
After a person eats the meat of a sick animal, poorly thermally processed, the larvae in the digestive system exit the capsules and after a while penetrate the small intestine. After about 24 hours, young individuals become females or males, which, using a stylet, attach to the intestinal wall and begin to copulate.
During parasitization in the body, one female produces about 1,500 of her own kind. This period lasts no more than 2 months. Larvae gradually penetrate the lymphatic and blood vessels, spread throughout the body. After a few days, they reach the musculature, where for 20 days the larva continues its development, at the end of which it becomes longer, reaches the invasive stage and coils.
The tissues of the host organism respond to such an invasion, and a connecting capsule begins to form around the larva, which simultaneously protects it and passes nutrients and oxygen through it.
Trichinosis in humans can last up to 2 years, by the end of this period the capsules with larvae are gradually covered with calcium salts. In this state, in this organism, the parasite can no longer begin a new development cycle, for this it needs to get into a new host. Only in this case, the larva is released from the capsule, and the entire development cycle is repeated.
Phases of the life of a parasite
Thus, if we study the development cycle of a parasitic worm, then the following phases can be distinguished:
- Intestinal. It starts from the moment of eating infected meat and ends with the process of laying off the larvae. The whole stage takes about 40-60 days.
- The migration phase consists in the movement of larvae throughout the body, which begins on the 5-6th day of infection.
- The muscle phase begins at the moment when the parasite larvae reach the muscle tissue, begin to grow there and eventually turn into capsules. In this condition, they can infect others and retain their viability for more than a dozen years, further transmitting the disease.
Trichinosis has such a development cycle in the body, not only in humans, but also in animals.
Signs of a disease in humans
If infection occurs for the first time, then at first no sensations arise until the disease develops (trichinosis). Symptoms in humans, when the larva is only located in the intestine, may be as follows:
- digestive upset;
- pain in the abdomen;
- fatigue;
- vomiting and nausea may occur.
But most often people do not even suspect that all these signs can signal the presence of parasites, are more prone to poisoning, gastrointestinal diseases, so the necessary measures are not taken in time.
But very little time will pass, and the larva will reach the muscle fibers, then the symptoms are much brighter:
- muscle pains appear;
- body temperature rises;
- the face begins to swell, eyes redden and conjunctivitis develops.
- the patient appears photosensitivity;
- headaches may be noted;
- a person complains of constant weakness and chills.
When the larvae turn into capsules, they enter the last stage of trichinosis, the human symptoms begin to subside, and recovery comes. But the whole danger lies in the fact that the lesions caused by parasites can be fatal, so it is important to make a diagnosis on time and take all necessary measures for treatment.
What trichinosis can lead to
Now everything is clear with the disease trichinosis. We found out what it is, but it is important to understand that a disease never goes away without consequences for the body, and even more so if it is not treated. Against the background of trichinosis, serious pathologies of the respiratory system occur, disturbances in the nervous system, in the vessels and the work of the heart muscle are observed.
Even if the therapy was carried out, then this is a big blow to the entire immune system, the patient practically loses his defenses.
Quite often, signs of pneumonia, myocarditis or meningoencephalitis do not appear as an independent disease, but as a result of trichinosis. There are even deaths.
Making the right diagnosis
If you look at the statistics of erroneous diagnoses for trichinosis, it can be argued that this parasitic pathology is poorly understood. When a disease is suspected, doctors do not always follow diagnostic tactics, so time is wasted.
Very important, and sometimes crucial, for making an accurate diagnosis of trichinosis is:
- clinical examination;
- epidemiological history data;
- specific laboratory research.
Due to the fact that the symptoms of the disease are very similar to the manifestation of other diseases, an erroneous diagnosis is often made: flu, SARS, dysentery and others.
Doctors should remember and know that the main distinguishing features of this invasion are fever, accompanied by muscle pain, swelling of the face, hemorrhage in the sclera, pain in the eyes. Laboratory tests show persistent eosinophilia and leukocytosis.
Only laboratory methods can clarify the situation, which can be divided into two groups:
- parasitological;
- immunological.
The first group of methods is based on the detection of larvae in meat and in a biopsy of the patient’s muscle fibers. Immunological diagnostic methods include:
- allergological studies;
- application of serological techniques.
Allergological methods are poorly developed, therefore, they are practically not used for diagnosis. Serological reactions that are practiced include:
- complement coagulation reaction;
- ring precipitation reaction;
- indirect hemagglutination reaction;
- linked immunosorbent assay.
The last two methods are considered the most informative and reliable in making the correct diagnosis.
Differentiated diagnosis of trichinosis
It is not by chance that this disease is often confused with the flu or SARS, these conditions have similar manifestations. But you need to know the differences, which are as follows:
- With viral infections, as a rule, the head hurts in the area of the superciliary arches.
- Symptoms of airway damage are more pronounced with influenza and viral diseases.
- Less pronounced muscle pain.
Trichinosis can also be confused with paratyphoid fever or typhoid fever, but it should be borne in mind that with these diseases the symptoms increase gradually, patients become inhibited, anorexia appears, thickens and the tongue becomes gray-dirty.
An important stage of diagnosis is also the differentiation of trichinosis from other types of invasion. That is why laboratory diagnostic methods are so necessary.
Disease therapy
In order not to have to deal with the consequences of the disease, it is important to know, especially for hunters, how to check the boar for trichinosis. You can always send your production to a specialized laboratory and conduct a veterinary and sanitary examination.
Unfortunately, it is impossible to extract the parasite from the muscle tissue, but you can do your best to remove the symptoms and destroy the source of infection. It is important to understand: the earlier the correct diagnosis is made and adequate treatment is started, the less traumatic the consequences will be for the body.
Most often, if a diagnosis of trichinosis is made, treatment includes the use of the following actions:
- The use of antiparasitic drugs. At the initial stage, it can be "Albendazole", "Mebendazole". It is important to prescribe them when the parasite is in the intestine.
- The use of steroid drugs to stop the inflammatory process, which can develop against the background of the migration of larvae.
- Taking pain medication will help reduce muscle pain.
If trichinosis occurs in a severe form, treatment is carried out in a hospital. The doctor should warn the patient that for about 6 months after recovery, muscle pain can be observed.
Preventative work
Prevention of trichinosis is quite simple, but it will protect against such an insidious disease. All that is required is the right and careful choice of meat for cooking and heat it for a long time.
This is especially true for connoisseurs of wild meat, who after hunting love to cook themselves a treat at the stake right at the edge of the forest. In order not to spread pig trichinosis, it is even necessary to slaughter domestic animals after sanitary control. It is only necessary to store raw meat in frozen form, the larvae can withstand low temperatures for several days, so meat should be frozen for at least a week and with a thermometer not higher than minus 23 degrees. Meat, which is purchased through stores, as a rule, should not pose a risk to human health, since it is subject to veterinary and sanitary inspection before being sold.
We examined the disease trichinosis, what it is, we found out. And only one conclusion can be drawn from all of this. The health of every person is in his hands, and he must be taken seriously and responsibly. It must be remembered that dangers can lie in wait even where we do not expect them at all.