Overview
Peak helminth infections called is in the summer and fall season. At this time, warm and moist soil in which, together with animal feces are toxocara eggs contribute to their better preservation.
Of ingested human parasite eggs in the digestive tract larvae appear, from where they can easily penetrate into the blood vessels, and for him and in different organs and tissues.
Manifestations of the disease often depends on where it will be toxocara. They can settle in the muscles, liver, kidney, lung, thyroid, and even in the brain of an infected person.
Parasites can remain active for many years, and periodically renew migration, causing the patient to experience a worsening of poor health.
Therefore, there are difficulties in determining the symptoms and treatment of toxocariasis in children and adults.
I must say that most of the infected are children from 3 to 5 years, as they are a lot of contact with the ground while walking and sand, and the immune system have still weak. But the young patients are not inferior to those adult carriers toxocariasis, whose activities involve working with animals or soil - dog handlers, owners of orchards, vegetable sellers in the stores, veterinarians, caretakers, diggers and others.
The causes of toxocariasis
And in children and adults, the main cause of toxocariasis is hygiene rules violation. helminth eggs are on the soil surface with the feces of infected animals and then easily recorded with dirty hands, which raised something from the ground, in the mouth during a meal.
The same thing happens when contact with infected animals fur, as well as when consuming contaminated water or dirty fruits and vegetables. There were also cases of infection through meat toxocara intermediate hosts of these helminths - pigs, poultry and lambs. The described method of infection is in the name of the medicine by the fecal-oral.
Do not rule out the transfer of larvae from an infected woman to the fetus during pregnancy or newborn child through breast milk, but this hypothesis remains unproven.
classification of toxocariasis
Parasitologists toxocara are two types:
- toxocara canis - worms that live in the body of wolves, dogs and other canines;
- toxocara cati (mystax) - worms that live mainly in the body of representatives of the cat family.
All these parasites It has a pale yellow color and reach 70-100 mm in length in males and 100-180 mm in females. They are able to settle in any part of the body, and depending on it will be different manifestations of the disease. For example, in medicine are considering several forms of toxocariasis flow:
- skin, Accompanied by a rash, dermatitis and eczema. When her turn affected areas, located along toxocara migration.
- eyeAt which the parasites affect the organs of vision and infection can manifest abscesses, optic neuritis, granuloma, inflammation of the choroid (uveitis), etc.
- visceral. This form includes cases of subsidence of worms in various internal organs and tissues.
- neurological. When there are various affected areas of the nervous system, because of which the patient may experience changes behavior (hyperactivity, irritability, etc.), degraded memory, disturbed sleep and have trouble reading.
Features displays and duration of the disease toxocariasis divide into three types:
- acuteGiving a picture of intoxication expressed products helminth life;
- chronicIn which the possible change of acute manifestations of infection for long periods of remission;
- latent - no outward signs, in this case, toxocariasis can only be determined in laboratory studies.
The symptoms of toxocariasis
Development of toxocariasis has similar features to the development of ascariasis. In the small intestine of human parasite eggs become larvae and penetrate quickly into the blood vessels, where current blood transported to the liver. There are some toxocara and settle, and around them in the body of inflammatory granuloma formation.
The rest of the parasites travel to the lungs, where there is still a part of them. Did not stay in the body of parasites through the pulmonary veins enter the left heart and penetrated into the systemic circulation, stuck on the way to the organs and tissues. Thus, the affected person may toxocara manifestation of multiple organ pathology. Under favorable conditions possible for the parasites larvae migrate new processes, which leads to relapse of the disease.
Since toxocara are not able to develop into mature individuals and only stored in the form of larvae, it is not contagious to others in the human body.
Toxocariasis has no specific signs and symptoms of toxocariasis are similar to other types of helminth infections and are directly dependent on the degree of infection (by parasites enter massaging the body), as well as where and in which bodies they settled.
Most often, symptoms of the disease appear suddenly. Thus, during the acute period toxocarosis infected usually feels general weakness, he can rise temperature (usually up to 38 ° C, but in rare cases and above 39 ° C). Patients with toxocariasis often complain of pain in the muscles, as well as weight loss, sleep disorders and appetite loss. They occasionally occur nausea, urge to vomiting, abdominal pain.
The lymph nodes of such patients are usually enlarged, and it is possible to observe rashes on the skin, with allergic character. Some patients can be observed pulmonary syndrome of different severity - from mild manifestations up to pneumonia, and sometimes severe attacks of asthma.
If the worms migrate to the brain, the patient may develop severe headaches and convulsionsAnd in some cases possible and paralysis.
Children tend to carry heavier toxocariasis.
diagnosis of toxocariasis
Diagnosis of toxocariasis causes some difficulties, as the positive results of blood tests and can be a sign lesion organism other parasites, and in case of a negative result contamination may still be present, but a small amount of helminths.
Blood analysis in patients infected toxocara shows accelerated ESR, Eosinophilia and symptoms leukocytosis. As a result of these studies, as well as the history of the data as a regular contact with the soil, the presence at the patient animals, hobby tourism, certain features professional activity (mentioned above) and the like, the patient is preset diagnosis. A final confirmation is possible only when it detects toxocara larvae as a result of a liver biopsy.
Quite informative method is and serology. During his antibodies to antigens toxocara in the patient's blood. Despite the fact that the migrating larvae reveal quite difficult, detection of the immune response of the body to some extent helps to confirm the suspicion of infection.
The larvae are called feces parasite can not be detected, as in the gut, he does not live, so this analysis can not provide information about the presence of toxocariasis in a patient.
In situations, when considering the possibility of ocular form of helminth infection, a survey carried out in conjunction with ophthalmologists as an increased number of eosinophils, which helps in other cases, to confirm the suspicion, this time may be too little or remain normal.
toxocariasis treatment
Methods of treatment of toxocariasis is not yet perfect. The available Helminthologists drugs effectively act only on migrating humans, the larvae, while individuals who had settled in the organs or tissues of a patient, are intact.
Most often, for pest control using drugs Vermoxum (mebendazole), Albendazole and Medamin and others. In their application should strictly observe the advice of a doctor, because these medicines can cause unwanted effects. Moreover, deterioration of the patient can be provoked by toxic effect and death of the parasites.
The course of treatment usually lasts no more than four weeks. During his state of the patient's blood is necessarily controlled, and often improve the patient's well-being is far ahead of the positive test results.
prevention
Prevention of toxocariasis - is, first of all, accustom child to basic hygiene rules:
- coming from the street, to wash their hands with soap and water;
- do not pull in the mouth toys and hands;
- not eat unwashed vegetables or fruits.
Equally important way to prevent toxocariasis is timely deworming pets.
Forecast at toxocarosis
Early identification of the symptoms and treatment of toxocariasis will minimize adverse effects to a minimum.
Mostly, the prognosis of the disease described by favorable. But in cases where there is a massive infestation toxocara, as well as in situations when this happens patients with severely immune system, can result in severe consequences, including fatal outcome.
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