In our article, we will consider a fairly common disease - amoebiasis. We will describe in detail the symptoms of this ailment, the causes of the appearance, and also talk about the types of pathology. Preventive measures and treatment are two important issues that are also considered in the article.
What kind of disease?
Amoebiasis is an infection of the human body with parasites. Today, this disease is a problem for countries with low living standards. Most of the foci of the disease are in tropical and subtropical countries. Amoebiasis is a disease that is one of the most common in the world. Also, this ailment is one of the most common causes of death in developing countries. In the first place in the number of deaths is malaria, followed by amoebiasis. This disease is a global medical and social problem in backward countries.
Statistics
Entamoeba histolytica infection statistics exist. It was revealed that about 480 million people are carriers of this disease. Death as a result of the progression of amoebiasis in the body occurs in about 100 thousand people. Deterioration of living standards, unsanitary conditions and relocation of people lead to the spread of the disease. In our country, foci of infection with amoebiasis are in the southern regions. But in recent years, the number of sick people has increased due to the migration of the southern population to northern latitudes. Also, many residents of our country began to travel to distant exotic countries, which also leads to the spread of amoebiasis. There are more infected people in our country. And we are talking about residents of cities such as Moscow and St. Petersburg. Therefore, amoebiasis is a serious medical problem.
In the waste of human life there are such amoebas:
- Entamoeba histolytica. This amoeba can become a source of infection.
- Entamoeba dispar.
- Entamoeba hartmanni.
- Entamoeba coli.
- Endolimax nana.
- Lodamoeba butschlii.
- Blastocystis hominis.
Description of the disease
Amoebiasis is a defeat of the body by simple microorganisms, amoeba. Infection occurs when cysts enter the upper colon. The amoeba that causes the disease is called Entamoeba histolytica. Ulcers form in the colon, and abscesses in other organs (such as the lungs, skin, or liver).
Symptoms and signs
By what signs can it be determined that a person has amoebiasis? Symptoms of the disease may not appear immediately. With good body resistance, cysts and luminal forms can remain in the intestines for a long time without causing disease. But if the conditions are unfavorable (hot climate, poor protein-free nutrition, dysbiosis), cysts turn into luminal forms and penetrate into the intestinal tissue (tissue form), which is accompanied by inflammation and ulceration (intestinal form), sometimes even provoke tissue necrosis. Sometimes the incubation period can last several months. But there are often cases when signs of amoebiasis appear within a week after infection of the body.
The disease (amoebiasis) can be intestinal and extraintestinal. Symptoms will vary depending on the type of disease.
Signs of intestinal form
Intestinal amoebiasis , as the name implies, affects the intestines. How can you understand that a person has this particular ailment? According to the signs listed below.
- With the intestinal form of the disease, a disorder of the stool occurs. Not for nothing that the second name of the pathology is amoebic dysentery. Amoebiasis in 10% of cases takes the form of fulminant dysentery, which is characterized by profuse diarrhea with a splash of mucus and blood in the feces. For a day, a person can experience up to 20 urges to empty the intestines.
- Feces look like burgundy jelly.
- At the bottom of the abdomen there are pain sensations, the intensity of which increases after going to the toilet. These pains are cramping in nature.
- Also, a person has abdominal cramps.
- The temperature rises. As a rule, a couple of degrees (no more). Sometimes it can be normal.
- You should know that the human body can affect the vermiform appendix - amoebic typhlitis. In this situation, the diagnosis of amoebiasis is difficult, as the patient shows signs of acute appendicitis. Namely: severe pain in the right side of the body under the rib, high fever, tone of the abdomen, etc.
- Dehydration
- General state of weakness and drowsiness.
Acute amoebiasis lasts up to 6 weeks. Next comes remission. This condition is characterized by normal health and lasts from several weeks to several months.
Signs that your body is infected with extraintestinal amoebiasis
You should know that extraintestinal amoebiasis is characterized by the fact that harmful microorganisms infect other organs of the person.
Depending on the localization of microorganisms, pathology is divided into several types:
- Parasites can affect the outer lining of the heart.
- Amoebiasis of the liver. This disease is acute. The body temperature rises sharply (up to 39 degrees and above). A person begins chills and profuse sweating. There are severe pains in the right hypochondrium, which intensify during coughing, turning over and pressing on the liver area. The skin and whites of the eyes turn yellow. You should know that if the abscess is inside the liver, then the above symptoms may be absent or may not be so sharp.
- Amoebic pneumonia, or pneumonia. This lung lesion is characterized by high body temperature. The person also starts chills and pain in the chest area appears. This condition is accompanied by cough and shortness of breath. When coughing sputum is released with impurities of blood.
- Encephalitis (inflammation of the brain). Symptoms of the disease may be different. They depend on the area of damage to the brain. If the cerebellum is affected, then the coordination of movements will be disrupted in a person . With inflammation of the brain, convulsions will be observed in the frontal part.
- Skin affection with amoebiasis. In this case, various sores and erosions appear on the skin of a person. Typically, these defects are found on the abdomen, buttocks and perineum. This type of pathology affects people with a weakened immune system.
Complications
If a person does not take any measures to treat this disease, it takes a chronic form and can last several years. Chronic amebiasis is characterized by periods of exacerbation and decline.
There are cases when a person suffers from this disease for decades. If the disease lasts several years, you can not do without complications. These include the following conditions and pathologies:
- Drowsiness, lethargy, loss of strength and, as a result, decreased human performance.
- Anemia (anemia). In the human body, the number of red blood cells and hemoglobin decreases.
- Weight loss, exhaustion.
- Lack of vitamins.
Forms of Amebiasis
Amoebiasis can occur in various forms, each of which is accompanied by certain symptoms. They differ in the severity of the patient's condition and the focus of localization of pathogenic microflora. The human immune system also plays an important role. Amoebiasis can occur without any symptoms or with their presence. The unsystematic course of the disease is characterized by the fact that the body does not give any signals that it is infected.
Symptom onset with symptoms
As a rule, a person rises body temperature, there is frequent diarrhea, pain in the abdomen. The manifest course of the disease can be classified into several categories:
- Intestinal amoebiasis. The name speaks for itself. That is, the causative agent of amoebiasis affects the intestines.
- Extra-intestinal. With this variant of the disease, other organs of the human body are affected.
- Amoebiasis of the skin. The skin of a person is affected. Usually people with a weakened immune system are affected. Also, skin amebiasis can be caused by intestinal and is a complication of it.
Acute and chronic forms of pathology: signs
By the way the disease proceeds, it is divided into acute and chronic amoebiasis. In the acute stage, the patient feels very ill. Since the disease is progressing rapidly. The chronic stage of the disease can be divided into two types. The first type is characterized by a continuous flow, and the second is renewable. In the second form, the patient has periods of remission, when the state of the body is normalized. But after a certain time, the disease again takes a sharp form.
Extraintestinal amoebiasis
As for extraintestinal amoebiasis, it is also classified into several types, has a different severity depending on which organ is affected by the pathogen. Such pathologies are distinguished:
- amoebic hepatitis;
- liver abscess
- amoebiasis of the lungs, human brain, or skin.
Non-invasive
Amoebic dysentery is invasive (with the presence of certain semantics) and non-invasive, in other words, asymptomatic.
The latter type is characterized by the temporary presence in the body of microorganisms in an unfavorable environment. For non-invasive amoebiasis, the following symptoms are characteristic:
- The absence of any symptoms indicating the presence of microorganisms in the body.
- Endoscopy does not show any pathologies.
- Microorganisms are in an inactive phase. Therefore, this condition is characterized by such signs as the absence of trophozoites-hematophages.
- The absence of antibodies in the blood of a person that could show during the study that the body is struggling with any foreign trace elements.
Causes of the disease
How does a person become infected with this disease? The causative agent of amoebiasis is a simple amoeba called Entamoeba histolytica. She may be at rest and not pose any danger. But it can also be in a vegetative form of development. When it enters the external environment, Entamoeba histolytica is at rest, which protects it from the effects of the external environment and various adverse factors. The vegetative form of the amoeba has its own name - trophozoite. It develops from cysts. If trophozoite is formed outside the body, then it dies. The source of infection is an unhealthy person. When emptying, it secretes infected feces. Then another infection may occur. Infected cysts are released from feces. They may get into water or soil. Also, vegetables or fruits can accidentally become sources of infection. In general, those products that have not been subjected to any processing. Therefore, before eating any vegetables from the garden, remember that there is a possibility that they may be infected with cysts. In this regard, all rules for processing products should be followed. There are a great many ways of transmitting this disease (even sexually through anal sex). You can also get infected through food, household items and more.
What is the danger?
The danger of this disease is that in the intestines, amoeba begin to multiply. After which numerous abscesses form. They also pass into the rectum, where they continue to parasitize. A large accumulation of amoebas can lead to rupture of the intestinal wall. They can also spread to other organs of the human body.
How is the diagnosis carried out? Survey Options
We already found out what amebiasis is, the symptoms are described. Now the time has come to talk about the diagnosis of the disease.
It should be said that for any violations of the body, it is recommended to consult a doctor as soon as possible for examination and making an accurate diagnosis.
- Any visit to the doctor begins with a survey of the patient and recognition of his complaints. Therefore, before going to the doctor, you must observe yourself and identify the symptoms present. To diagnose amoebiasis, the doctor will ask if the body temperature has increased, whether there is diarrhea. How often a person has emptying, are there any blood blotches in them. It is also necessary to find out whether a person has traveled abroad recently. Namely, in countries with a low standard of living and located in a tropical or subtropical climate. This is an important point, since foci of a high level of amoebiasis disease are located in such countries.
- After interviewing the patient, the doctor conducts an examination. Namely, carries out palpation of the abdomen. He asks if pain is present. Also, the doctor examines the human skin for any erosion and ulcers.
- Next, the delivery of tests is prescribed. First of all, this is a blood test. As a rule, when an amoeba infects a human body, the level of eosinophils rises. This indicator suggests that the body is struggling with any parasites. In addition, when a person becomes infected with amoebiasis, anemia develops. The number of red bodies decreases. A biochemical blood test is also prescribed. It allows you to determine the amount of protein and other trace elements that can confirm or disprove the presence of protozoa in the human body.
- Fecal analysis. This study may indicate the presence of live amoeba. Therefore, feces should be sent to the laboratory for analysis immediately after emptying.
- Inspection of the intestine through an endoscope. It allows you to detect the presence of ulcers in the intestine and various defects. Also, this device allows you to make a sampling of the intestinal mucosa and immediately send it to the laboratory for further research.
- The doctor also prescribes an immunological diagnosis. It allows you to determine if there is protein in the body. If there is, then the likelihood of the presence of amoebas increases.
- Molecular diagnosis of the disease. A study of other human organs in the presence of extraintestinal amoebiasis in the body. Survey data are done by ultrasound, X-ray and MRI.
- Consultation of the gastroenterologist.
Conservative method
There are two treatment options for this disease: conservative and surgical.
How to treat conservatively amoebiasis? Drugs used for this therapy:
- Antiprotozoal medicines.
- Antibiotics.
- Multivitamins, drugs aimed at combating dehydration, pain medication and hepatoprotectors.
Surgical
A surgical treatment is prescribed after the conservative option has not yielded positive results, and the disease continues to progress. Also, the operation is indicated in cases where there is a probability of rupture of the abscess.
Prevention measures for amoebiasis
In order to prevent this disease, you must first abandon the use of raw water. Since it can be infected. Only foods that have been heat treated should be eaten. After treatment, it is recommended to be under medical supervision for at least a year.
When planning a trip to countries with a tropical or subtropical climate, you should consult your doctor and find out what preventive measures should be taken in these countries. It is also possible to get vaccinated. It should be remembered that the vaccination of the body is carried out in advance, and not immediately before the trip. Particularly high risk of infection in countries with low living standards.
Little conclusion
Now you know how the diagnosis of amoebiasis is carried out, which is this disease. Symptoms and causes of its occurrence, we also examined in detail. Methods of treating this disease are also described in the article. Although any disease is much easier to prevent than to cure. After all, any therapy requires a lot of money and time. Therefore, our article examined preventive measures that will help you protect yourself and your family from such a serious and dangerous disease as amoebiasis. Be healthy!