Today, diseases caused by various types of protozoa and helminths are widespread. The danger of such diseases is explained not only by complications and dysfunctions 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 diseases.
Helminths and protozoa cause:
- malfunction of the gastrointestinal tract (constipation, diarrhea, vomiting);
- allergic skin reactions;
- general intoxication of the body;
- muscle and joint pain;
- dehydration.
In order to avoid a misdiagnosis and the indication of an inappropriate course of treatment, which, at best, will be simply ineffective, and, at worst, can cause complications, it is necessary to accurately determine the type of helminths and the degree of body infection with them.
Ways of infection with protozoan helminths
All worms enter the body from the outside. The same is true for the simplest helminths. In the environment, they live in soil, bodies of water. In addition to unwashed hands, ingesting low-quality products, you can get infected with them at home, through contact with a carrier.
The main mechanism of any infection is most often fecal-oral, that is, a person simply swallows the worm eggs along with food, water, less often some helminth infestations occur when bitten by infected insects.
The simplest worms that live in humans belong to the class of single-celled organisms. The infection is called a protozoan. Depending on the type and degree of invasion, the course of the disease can be severe, even causing the death of the patient.
Which helminths are called protozoa?
The simplest helminths can have a body of both constant (ciliates and flagellates) and variable shape - a bright representative of the amoeba. Its dimensions are very small and range from 4-5 micrometers to 1-3 millimeters. The cell of these microorganisms often has several nuclei. Pseudopods, cilia and flagella act as organs of locomotion. The reproduction process, depending on the species, occurs by halving or by a complex sexual method.
To protect themselves from adverse external conditions, as well as for further dissemination, the simplest helminths can develop into cysts, which are cells covered by a protective membrane. This allows them to transform from an immobile cyst to an active state if they enter a favorable environment.
There are frequent situations in which the carrier's body does not even notice the simpler helminths that parasitize in it. In other cases, the invasion leads to the death of the host. For example, some antelope species 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 fatal.
The most studied protozoan helminths
Parasites in the human body that belong to the class of flagellates:
- 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 like giardiasis - a functional disorder of the gastrointestinal tract, namely the small intestine. Many patients infected with Giardia do not have any obvious symptoms.
- Leishmania are the simplest helminths carried by mosquitoes. After being bitten by insects, a person is more likely to contract leishmaniasis. The 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 trypanosomiasis. This disease has a long course. Depending on the type of trypanosomatids, various systems and organs are affected.
- Amoeba dysentery parasitizes the intestines. Invasion is carried out in the form of a 4-nuclear cyst. Although dysenteric amoeba is found almost everywhere, the most frequent cases of infection are recorded in tropical countries. Amoeba is the cause of an infectious protozoan disease in humans like amebiasis. The clinical picture of the disease is ulcerative colitis, characterized by relapses and exacerbations. There are also cases of an extra-intestinal form of amoebiasis - these protozoan helminths pass from the intestine to other organs and even the skin. The last form of the disease is called skin amoebiasis - on the buttocks and perineum there are obvious ulcerative necrotic signs.
- Trichomonas cause trichomoniasis. Currently, several subspecies of Trichomonas have been studied. Intestinal, whose area of parasitism is in the large intestine and the helminth does not bring much damage to the intestine. The area of parasitism of the genitourinary Trichomonas, as can be seen from the name - the genitourinary system. The infection is carried out sexually. This subspecies of protozoan is the cause of a disease such as trichomoniasis. This infectious disease is manifested by inflammation in the genitourinary system. Oral Trichomonas parasite in the oral cavity, does not pose a danger to humans.
The sporophytic species of protozoa are represented by malarial plasmodium and coccidia:
- The malarial Plasmodium, transmitted by mosquitoes and causing malaria, is the simplest microorganism. It parasites in the blood. Malaria in an infected person with this parasite is manifested by the following symptoms: hypochromic anemia, fever attacks, enlargement of organs such as the liver and spleen.
- Coccidia are protozoa that live in the intestinal epithelial tissue of many animals. Several species of coccidia are the causative agents of a disease such as coccidiosis. In humans, this disease occurs with mild intoxication and the phenomena of gastroenteritis or enteritis.
Ciliates: balantidia. This detachment of protozoa living in the large intestine is the cause of a disease such as infusing dysentery (balantidiasis).
Diagnosis and treatment of protozoan helminths
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 of various organs and systems.
In medical practice, there are general principles for the treatment of protozoan invasion:
- antiparasitic drugs;
- non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs;
- detox drugs;
- with the manifestation of a secondary bacterial infection, antibiotics targeted narrowly.
Specific treatment is prescribed by a doctor, based on the type of protozoan helminth and the degree of invasion.