The most common types of worms in humans

Various types of worms are found everywhere, with children making up 80% of those affected.Helminths or worms (from the Greek worm parasite) are lower worms that parasitize the body of humans and animals.They cause pathologies called helminthiasis.According to the WHO, every year 50% of the population is infected with: hookworms (1.2 billion people), hookworms (900 million) and whipworms (up to 700 million).

What types of worms are there?To date, more than 400 species of worms found in humans have been identified.All types of worms in humans are divided into 2 large groups: flat and round (nematodes).On the other hand, flatworms are divided into tapeworms (cestodes) and flukes (trematodes).Cestodes are also divided into tape and tape.

The idea that worms in humans live only in the intestines is a misconception;they can migrate with the bloodstream throughout the body and settle in different places.All types of parasitic worms feed at the expense of the host and use it for their life cycle.

Circulation of worms in nature

To maintain their species, parasites must constantly move in the external environment, leaving their host and settling in the body of animals, using them as intermediate hosts.In this process, transporters are of great importance: mechanical - these can be insects that carry worms at distances on their legs.Worms do not live in the body of insects.

A specific carrier or an intermediate host - in which the parasites undergo only one of their development cycles.When circulating, the way the worms are transmitted matters:

• contact - penetration through intact skin and mucous membranes (worm);
• nutritious.

Features of reproduction of worms

For the most part, lower worms are hermaphrodites, but there are also worms with gender differences - nematodes.If helminths change several hosts during their development cycle (sometimes up to 4), they are called biohelminths.If they live with only one owner, they are geohelminths.

Stages of development of worms:

1. Egg stages - the female lays immature eggs, which mature in the external environment, and then return to humans through the mouth.
2. The second stage is when a larva hatches from the egg.This process occurs in the gastrointestinal tract.It migrates throughout the body, looking for an ideal habitat.After finding it, she continues to develop into an adult.
3. The third stage is the adult, which again lays eggs.It should be noted that worms do not develop in all organisms, but only in those suitable for themselves, that is, for example, larvae, for which the host is a hoof, will survive if they enter the body of a predator, but they will not lay eggs there.

Types of helminthiasis

Types of helminths in humans are divided according to their habitat: luminal and tissue.In the first case, parasites live in the lumen of hollow organs, most often the intestines: ascariasis, trichuriasis, strongyloidiasis, teniarynchiasis and others.Tissues live in the thickness of various organs and tissues.What organs can be affected by worms?They can be located and affect the hepatobiliary system, brain, eyes, lymph nodes, lungs, so diseases can have several names:

• for liver damage - echinococcosis;
• brain damage - cysticercosis;
• lymph nodes - filariasis;
• pulmonary helminthiasis - paragonimiasis;
• helminthiasis of tissues - with the name of worms: trichinosis, schistosomiasis, filariasis, toxocariasis.
• Ophthalmic helminth infections - when parasites affect the eyes, and the most pronounced pathological changes are caused by the larvae and developmental stages of the worms.

HABITAT

Parasitic worms are found from the Arctic to the Equator, but those worms that are characteristic of the tropics will not be diagnosed in the inhabitants of northern latitudes.The rate of infection of the population with helminth infections depends on the economic level of the country and the climate.The most common types of worms are tapeworms, roundworms, and whipworms.The source of infection becomes the organism - the final host.

Ways of infection with worms:

1. The nutritional route is eating unwashed or fly-infested food, insufficient heat treatment of meat, eating raw fish, drinking unboiled water, swallowing water when swimming in tanks, using the same knife for raw and cooked food.
2. Fecal-oral transmission: contaminated household items, unwashed hands after using the toilet, contact with animals.
3. Transmission path.Transmission through insect bites.

Infection from pets

From contact with a dog, you can be infected with tapeworm, echinococcus, roundworm and pork tapeworm.Worm eggs can be in the fur of dogs, and in addition, these animals have a habit of eating other people's excrement while walking.From cats: the same as in dogs, as well as cat bites, from chickens - roundworms, from humans - roundworms, dwarf and pig tapeworms, roundworms.

How do worms act in the body?

Parasites sensitize the body with their waste, toxins and enzymes, resulting in:

• allergies and intoxication;
• mechanical damage to mucous membranes with suction and hooks;
• large worms can block the intestinal lumen.
• in addition, worms eat a significant part of the incoming BZHU, which causes anemia, lack of vitamins, microelements, hypoxia, malnutrition;
• digestive disorders are observed, children have a delay in psychophysical development.
• With many helminthiasis, chronic loss of microblood occurs.
• helminths worsen the course of existing pathologies, suppress the immune system, increase the risk of tuberculosis and cancer, and reduce the effectiveness of vaccinations.

Characteristics of the most common worms

What do roundworms look like?When cut, they have a round shape, hence their name.Roundworms have their own characteristics.First of all, this is their incredible durability: they stay alive in formaldehyde for 5 years.In addition, they are distinguished by a simple development cycle, a digestive system in the form of a straight tube and rapid reproduction.

Breast worms cause enterobiasis (anthroponotic disease, dirty hands disease).They look like small white worms up to 1 cm (males are only 3 mm), the end of the body is slightly pointed.They live in the lower parts of the small intestine and the beginning of the large intestine.They are contact worms.Ovulation occurs in the anus area.The development cycle lasts 2 weeks, they live 1-2 months.More common in children.They are attached to the intestinal wall using head vesicles.Female worms descend into the anus in the evening and lay eggs here.At the same time, they secrete a special kind of liquid that causes itching.A child scratches his bottom and self-infection occurs.After laying the eggs, the females die.The damage they cause is the release of enzymes that irritate the intestinal walls and contribute to their inflammation.

Roundworms cause ascariasis.These are round reddish-white worms up to 50 cm long and up to 6 cm wide.Males have a curved bottom.Roundworms live in the small intestine, but the larvae actively migrate throughout the body, their life cycle reaches up to a year.Worm larvae live in the lungs.Their residues cause intoxication and intestinal obstruction.

Parasites are geohelminths, that is, they develop in the soil and from there reach humans.They stand out for their great fertility, up to 240 thousand eggs per day.The eggs have a very hard three-layered shell and fall easily to the ground.Here, under the influence of oxygen, moisture and a certain temperature, larvae form in them.This process can take from 2 weeks to several months, depending on the temperature.Such a mature egg with a larva again enters the person orally.The larva emerges in the intestines and is carried throughout the body by the bloodstream.Its preferred habitat is the alveoli of the lungs, as it has access to oxygen and the larva is aerobic.Adults are anaerobic.Reaching 3-4 mm in length, after 4-5 days the larva moves into the bronchi, which causes a cough.When coughed up, it is swallowed and returned to the intestine, where it develops to maturity.The life cycle of the parasite reaches up to one year.

The whipworm causes trichuriasis, belongs to the nematodes, has a color from gray to reddish, reaches 2-5 cm, has a sharp hair-like end of the head, hence the name.The parasite attaches to the intestinal wall and feeds on the host's blood and mucosal tissue.It lives in the large intestine and appendix, where the larvae reach sexual maturity and lay 3,500 eggs per day.The life cycle of the parasite is 4-5 years.By damaging the intestinal wall, they contribute to its damage: causing appendicitis, diarrhea, abdominal pain, anemia.Helminth eggs enter the soil with human feces, where they can persist for up to 2 years.

Toxocara causes toxocariasis.This is a yellow worm that looks like a roundworm, but is 15-20 cm long.It is a biohelminth;humans are infected by dogs.They live in the form of eggs.In the human intestine, larvae emerge from them.They migrate throughout the body, damaging internal organs and causing allergies.The severity of the clinic depends on immunity and the number of helminths.Laying eggs per day - up to 250 thousand.Life cycle - up to 10 years.

Trichinella spiralis causes trichinosis, which is considered the most dangerous of helminthiasis, as it often ends in death.The nematode is only 5 mm long.Infection occurs when undercooked pork is eaten.Trichinella in the intestine is fertilized, the larvae are fertilized and hatch inside the female.At one end, the female clings to the intestinal wall and throws up to 2,000 live larvae.This process is called ovoviviparity and lasts 3-4 days.Larvae are carried through the bloodstream and lodge in striated muscles, particularly the masticatory, oculomotor, respiratory and shoulder flexor tracts.The disease is severe: 2 weeks after the invasion, pain in the abdomen, muscles, head and joints, fever, swelling of the face and intoxication appear.In the muscles, after a month, the larvae close in the form of a spiral and can remain in a cyst-like state for 20 years without losing their stability.After 1.5 months, recovery occurs with proper treatment.

Hookworm and necator are similar to each other, so their helminthiasis is given a common name - hookworm.They are up to 1.5 cm long and parasitize the duodenum.Helminths are common but rarely detected.Larvae can penetrate the skin after contact with soil.The development cycle is very similar to roundworms.The tapeworm lives in the intestines and feeds only on blood.An individual can absorb 0.35 ml of blood per day.Therefore, a characteristic feature is anemia and dysproteinemia.

Flatworms have a flattened shape.They have no gender differences;they are hermaphrodites.They are attached to the intestines using hooks and suction cups.

The bull tapeworm is a tapeworm that causes taeniahrynchiasis.It has a small head with 4 pinnae and 6 hooks and a ribbon body of 1000 segments, reaching 20 m in length.The parasite is a biohelminth, infection occurs through beef, where its larvae are located.Each segment contains hundreds of thousands of eggs.Without treatment, tapeworms can parasitize humans for up to 20 years.It lives in the small intestine, absorbing nutrients throughout the body surface.It lives up to 10 years.

Pig tapeworm is a tapeworm that causes taeniasis or cysticercosis.it reaches 3-8 m and has a double hooked edge.The life cycle is from 20 to 30 years.It can live in any organ and is found in poorly cooked pork.The cycle is similar to the bullish bar.The segments of this tapeworm can crawl out of the anus, here on the surface of the skin they burst and the eggs come out.Helminths parasitize the intestines, causing allergies and gastrointestinal problems.

The broad band causes diphyllobothriasis.The parasite is more than 10 m long, flat and wide.Biohelminths reach humans through freshwater fish or crustaceans.For tens of years, the worms parasitize in the small intestine, clinging to its wall.In 25 days, the parasites grow into adults.They feed on blood, causing diarrhea and abdominal pain.

Echinococcus is a biohelminth, a small tape, up to 3-5 mm.On her head are 2 crowns with hooks and pins;the parasite has 4-5 segments.The last is his reproductive system.It forms cysts up to 10 cm in organs (Finns), where the eggs and larvae are located.Cysts destroy the surrounding tissue.They may rupture, then develop toxic shock or multiple new cysts.The ultimate owner is the wolf, the intermediate owner is man.Infection through feeding or after contact with domestic animals.In the intestine, the larvae (oncospheres) hatch and are carried throughout the body by the bloodstream.They settle, as a rule, in the parenchyma of the liver and lungs, but also live in the intestines.Cysts can only be removed by surgery.

The cat's face is a liver stroke, a cat's stroke or a Siberian stroke.It causes opisthorchiasis.It is lanceolate, 1-2 cm long and 2 mm wide, with 2 mouth suckers on the head.Humans become infected through infected freshwater fish that have eaten a snail or crustacean with worm eggs.Humans are the primary host.The parasite lives in the lumen of the small intestine and bile ducts.The life cycle is up to 20 years;thousands of individuals parasitize an organism at once.The acute phase of the disease is characterized by upper abdominal pain, fever, nausea, myalgia, diarrhea and rash.When the process becomes chronic, symptoms of hepatocholecystitis are observed, which do not go away even after the worms are removed.

Disease course and symptoms

During the acute phase, symptoms can appear at different times, depending on the incubation period, but most often begin after 2-3 weeks.The most common symptoms: allergic rash, lymphadenopathy, development of local or general edema, arthralgia and myalgia.During migration to the lungs, there may be coughing, choking attacks, stool disorders (diarrhea), nausea and vomiting.

In the chronic phase, the symptoms depend on the organ where the parasites are located and their number.Key features include:

• frequent itching in the anal area;
• headache;
• dizziness;
• sleep disorders;
• bloating;
• rash and itching;
• fatigue with increased appetite;
• joint and muscle pain;
• yellowing of the skin;
• fatigue.
• prolonged low-grade fever may occur;
• discomfort in the region of the navel or in the right hypochondrium;
• periodic nausea and vomiting;
• bruxism;
• apathy.

The patient has pale, dry skin, loss of hair, eyebrows, eyelashes, brittle nails, tooth decay, bleeding gums, and bad breath.

Diagnostic and preventive measures

To establish a diagnosis, an itch is made from the rectal and perianal area, as well as a stool analysis.In this case, the worms are very clearly visible under a microscope.A blood test is done for the balance of eosinophils and proteins.Saliva, gastric and duodenal contents can be examined.

Any helminth in humans is prevented by constant personal and public hygiene, sufficient heat treatment of meat and fish.Regular veterinary examinations and further treatment of all pets are necessary.