The outbreak of this disease occurred for the first time in 1924. People living near the Frishes Gaffa Bay and eating fish from these waters began to experience strange symptoms. Guff or Yuksovskaya disease is alimentary, that is, it becomes infected through the use of fish containing toxic substances. Moreover, weeding and heat treatment does not always remove these toxins.
What is gaff disease?
The scientific name for this strange disease is myoglobinuria, paroxysmal toxic.
The name of the disease comes from the Gulf of Gulf. Sometimes the disease is also called yuksovskaya, because near this lake were also recorded diseases that cause liver and kidney failure.
These places are now endemic areas, in addition, outbreaks are recorded near Lake Sartlan in Western Siberia.
Symptoms
The disease begins (like regular food poisoning) - with nausea and vomiting. And then, as the poison spreads in the body, other symptoms occur.
Symptoms of Haff disease are:
- Muscle pain that makes it impossible to move independently.
- Seizures, as in severe poisoning.
- Dark urine and other symptoms of liver failure.
- Malfunctions of the heart.
- Later, mental abnormalities begin.
When the liver begins to fail, pain will not be felt. And the first signs are itchy skin, dark urine and yellow eyes. Pain is felt in the right side only when the liver has already grown in size and puts pressure on the parenchyma.
Kidneys gradually fail. The symptoms of urinary organs failure are as follows: an increase in the amount of urination, the appearance of "frost" on the skin - urea crystals, edema. People with kidney failure lose their appetite, they become lethargic. In women at the appointed time, menstruation does not begin. Complete kidney failure provokes severe anemia and heart problems.
It is believed that kidney failure and muscle pain are the main symptoms. Others may not appear. To find out what causes the symptoms, you need to see a doctor after the appearance of muscle pain. Only a doctor can distinguish Haffian disease from ordinary food poisoning.
Is it possible to die from an illness?
Mortality from Haff disease is only 1-2% of the total number of infected. If you immediately deliver the patient to a doctor who will determine the disease and prescribe treatment, then the prognosis is usually favorable.
Symptoms such as itchy skin and excessive urination cannot be ignored.
Without appropriate treatment, death can occur as a result of asphyxiation (suffocation) due to atrophy of the muscles of the larynx or uremia.
Causes of Fish Poisoning
The exact cause of the toxin in fish is still unknown. According to one version, the fish gets sick when it feeds on blue-green algae. According to another version, nitrogen fertilizers penetrate into the water and poison water bodies.
Be that as it may, fishing is possible only in those reservoirs that have passed sanitary control.
Disease-causing Toxin Properties
It has not yet been revealed which particular toxin causes these symptoms. It is only known that the substance is quite resistant to heat treatment and is fat-soluble.
Perhaps the accumulation of the substance leads to a severe deficiency of thiamine in the body and because of this, muscle pain occurs. Experiments on cats showed that the administration of a large dose of vitamin B gave them good results, and the animals recovered faster.
Treatment and prevention
The treatment of Haff disease is quite simple. The cause of the disease is not a virus, and not a bacterium, but toxins that can be removed by a dropper with glucose. The patient is required to undergo hemodialysis and drink plenty of water. Liver cleansing is necessary! What is the liver responsible for? For cleaning the body of toxins. Peritoneal dialysis is also urgently performed.
If the main filter breaks, toxins quickly trap all cells and tissues. As soon as liver function is restored, the color of urine is restored, bilirubin decreases, and the yellowness of the sclera leaves.
In severe cases, when intoxication has spread throughout the circulatory system, a blood transfusion is prescribed.
During treatment, the patient must follow a strict diet. Even when it becomes easier after hemodialysis, you should not eat foods rich in sodium or phosphorus.
Prevention - food control. Fish can only be caught in places that have passed sanitary and epidemiological control. And in unknown reservoirs, fish can be caught only for the sake of excitement, but not to eat the catch in any way.
conclusions
After eating fish that are caught in contaminated water bodies, the process of kidney and liver failure begins. At the same time, a person with a disease develops convulsions of the whole body and weakness due to muscle pain.
One symptom is the dark brown color of the urine. Why is urine dark in color? The color is due to an excess of bilirubin pigment. This is a classic sign of liver poisoning.
If the disease is started, then soon heart problems will begin, severe anemia; muscle weakness will develop, up to the appearance of problems with inhalation of air.