Nowadays, diseases caused by numerous species of protozoa and helminths are widespread.The danger of such diseases is explained not only by the complications and malfunctions in the body that protozoa and worms lead to in humans, but also by the difficulty of diagnosing the disease due to the similarity of symptoms with various non-parasitic diseases.
Helminths and protozoa cause:
- Disorders in the gastrointestinal tract (constipation, diarrhea, vomiting);
- allergic skin reactions;
- general intoxication of the body;
- muscle and joint pain;
- Dehydration.
In order to avoid diagnostic errors and the prescription of inadequate treatment, which at best is simply ineffective and at worst can lead to complications, you should accurately determine the type of helminths and the degree of infection of the body with them.
Routes of infection by protozoan helminths
All worms enter the body from outside.The same applies to protozoan helminths.In the environment they live in soil and water.In addition to unwashed hands and eating poor-quality food, you can also become infected at home through contact with a carrier.
The main mechanism of any infection is most often oral-fecal, that is, a person simply swallows worm eggs along with food and water, and less often helminthic infestation occurs as a result of bites of infected insects.
Protozoan worms that live in humans belong to the class of unicellular organisms.An infection is called a protozoosis.Depending on the type and extent of the invasion, the course of the disease can be severe and even lead to the death of the patient.
Which helminths are called protozoa?
Protozoan helminths can have a body of constant shape (ciliates and flagellates) and a variable body - a clear representative of the amoeba.Their size is very small, ranging from 4-5 micrometers to 1-3 millimeters.The cell of these microorganisms often has several cell nuclei.The organs of locomotion are pseudopodia, cilia and flagella.The reproductive process occurs by bisection or a complex sexual method, depending on the species.
To protect themselves from unfavorable external conditions and to spread further, protozoan helminths can transform into cysts, which are cells covered with a protective membrane.This allows them to transform from a motionless cyst to an active state when placed in a favorable environment.
There are often situations when the host's body does not even notice the protozoan helminths parasitizing in it.In other cases, the infestation results in the death of the host.For example, some antelope species in Africa are permanent “hosts” of trypanosomatids.And a bite from a tsetse fly, which carries these helminths, can infect a human and cause sleeping sickness, which 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 normally lives in the intestines, bile ducts, and 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 dysfunction of the gastrointestinal tract, namely the small intestine.Many patients infected with Giardia do not experience any obvious symptoms.
- Leishmania is a protozoan that is transmitted by mosquitoes.After an insect bite, there is a high probability of contracting leishmaniasis.Signs of the disease include damage to the skin, mucous membranes and some internal organs;Fever and anemia are common signs of the disease.
- Trypanosomatids are protozoa transmitted by insects.When the body becomes infected, the disease causes trypanosomiasis.This disease has a long course.Depending on the type of trypanosomatids, different systems and organs are affected.
- Amoebic dysentery parasitizes the intestines.The invasion occurs in the form of a 4-nucleated cyst.Although dysentery amoeba occurs almost everywhere, the most common cases of infection are recorded in tropical countries.Amoeba is the cause of such an infectious protozoan disease in humans as amebiasis.The clinical picture of the disease is ulcerative colitis, which is characterized by relapses and exacerbations.There are also cases of extraintestinal amebiasis - these single-celled helminths pass from the intestines to other organs and even to the skin.The newest form of the disease is called cutaneous amebiasis - clear ulcerative-necrotic signs are observed on the buttocks and perineum.
- Trichomonas cause trichomoniasis.Currently, several subspecies of Trichomonas have been studied.Intestine, the parasitic area of which is in the large intestine and the helminths do not cause any particular damage to the intestine.The area of parasitism of urogenital Trichomonas is, as the name suggests, the urogenital system.Infection occurs through sexual contact.This subspecies of protozoa is the cause of a disease such as trichomoniasis.This infectious disease manifests itself in inflammatory phenomena in the urogenital system.Oral Trichomonas parasitize in the oral cavity and do not pose a danger to humans.
The sporozoan type of protozoa is represented by malaria plasmodium and coccidia:
- Plasmodium falciparum, which is transmitted by mosquitoes and causes malaria, is a single-celled microorganism.It parasitizes in the blood.Malaria manifests itself in a person infected with this parasite by the following symptoms: hypochromic anemia, attacks of fever, enlargement of organs such as the liver and spleen.
- Coccidia are protozoa that live in the epithelial tissue of the intestines of many animals.A number of coccidia species are the causative agents of the disease coccidiosis.In humans, this disease occurs with mild intoxication and symptoms of gastroenteritis or enteritis.
Ciliates: Balantidia.This order of protozoa living in the large intestine is the cause of a disease such as ciliary dysentery (balantidiasis).
Diagnosis and treatment of protozoan helminths
If the presence of helminths in the body occurs without symptoms, very often the disease goes undiagnosed for a long time.Invasion can be suspected by specific symptoms and detected only by laboratory tests of feces, urine, blood and fluids obtained by puncture of various organs and systems.
In medical practice there are general principles for the treatment of protozoan invasion:
- antiparasitic drugs;
- nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs;
- detoxification medications;
- If a secondary bacterial infection occurs, targeted administration of antibiotics.
The doctor will prescribe a specific treatment based on the type of protozoan worm and the degree of infestation.