Today, diseases caused by numerous types of protozoa and helminths are widespread. The danger of such ailments is explained not only by complications and malfunctions in the body, to which protozoa and worms lead in humans, but also by the complexity of diagnosing the disease due to the similarity of symptoms with various non-parasitic ailments.
Helminths and protozoa cause:
- malfunctions of the gastrointestinal tract (constipation, diarrhea, vomiting);
- skin allergic 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. The same is with the simplest helminths. In the environment, they live in the soil, water bodies. In addition to unwashed hands, eating poor-quality products, they can become infected in everyday life, through contact with a carrier.
The main mechanism of any infection is most often oral-fecal, that is, a person simply swallows the eggs of the worm along with food, water, less often some helminthic infestations occur when bitten by infected insects.
The simplest worms that live in humans belong to the class of unicellular organisms. The infection is called protozoosis. Depending on the type and degree of invasion, the course of the disease can be severe, even causing the death of the patient.
What helminths are called protozoa?
The simplest helminths can have a body of constant shape (ciliates and flagellates) and changeable - 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 locomotion. The process of reproduction, depending on the species, occurs by dividing 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 an immobile 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, invasion leads to 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 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 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 patients infected with Giardia do not experience any obvious symptoms.
- Leishmania are the simplest helminths carried by mosquitoes. After being bitten by insects, 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 the disease trypanosomiasis. This disease has a long course. Depending on the type of trypanosomatids, various systems and organs are affected.
- Amoeba dysentery parasitizes the intestines. The invasion is carried out in the form of a 4-nuclear cyst. Although the dysenteric amoeba is found almost everywhere, the most frequent cases of infection are recorded in tropical countries. Amoeba is the cause of such an infectious protozoal disease in humans as amoebiasis. The clinical picture of the disease is ulcerative colitis, which is characterized by relapses and exacerbations. There are also cases of an extraintestinal form of amebiasis - these protozoan helminths pass from the intestines to other organs and even to the skin. The last form of the disease is called amebiasis of the skin - on the buttocks and in the perineum, there are obvious ulcerative-necrotic signs.
- Trichomonas cause trichomoniasis. Currently, several subspecies of Trichomonas have been studied. Intestinal, the area of parasitism of which is in the large intestine and the helminth does not bring much harm to the intestines. The area of parasitism of the genitourinary Trichomonas, as the name implies, is the genitourinary system. Infection is carried out sexually. This subspecies of protozoa is the cause of a disease such as trichomoniasis. This infectious disease is manifested by inflammation in the genitourinary system. Oral Trichomonas parasitizes in the oral cavity, does not pose a danger to humans.
The sporophyte species of protozoa is represented by malarial plasmodium and coccidia:
- The malarial Plasmodium, transmitted by mosquitoes and causing malaria, is the simplest microorganism. It parasitizes in the blood. Malaria in an infected with this parasite is manifested by the following symptoms: hypochromic anemia, bouts of fever, enlargement of organs such as the liver and spleen.
- Coccidia are protozoa that live in the intestinal epithelial tissue of many animals. A number of species of coccidia are the causative agents of such a disease as coccidiosis. In humans, this disease occurs with a slight intoxication and the phenomena of gastroenteritis or enteritis.
Ciliates: balantidia. This detachment of protozoa living in the large intestine is the cause of such a disease as infusor dysentery (balantidiasis).
Diagnosis and treatment of protozoan helminths
Very often, when the presence of helminths in the body occurs without symptoms, 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 from various organs and systems.
In medical practice, there are general principles for the treatment of protozoal invasion:
- antiparasitic drugs;
- non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs;
- drugs for detoxification;
- with the manifestation of a secondary bacterial infection, narrowly targeted antibiotics.
Specific treatment is prescribed by a doctor, based on the type of protozoan helminth and the degree of invasion.