A huge number of biological species live on our planet, including those that can parasitize in the human body. These include helminths - parasitic worms. Some of their species can be combined as long worms. In a person, such unexpected cohabitants cause many he alth problems.
Why are parasites dangerous?
Many believe that the main problem of helminthiasis is found long worms in the feces. But such an unpleasant find is only a visible manifestation of the problem. In fact, helminthiases are a serious disease that causes disturbances in both general well-being and the functioning of many organs and systems of the body. Currently, more than 400 species of parasites are determined by science and medicine, the habitat of which is, among other things, the human body. They can be divided into 4 groups:
- hairy;
- roundworms;
- flatworms;
- flyers.
The most extensive group of flatworms, this type includes trematodes and cestodes - the most common cause of helminth infections. Of particular interest to specialists are long worms in humans. A photo of such helminths is located below. Ithelp to understand the size of the parasites. As well as the danger that such cohabitants pose to a person.
Being in the human or animal body, parasites use it as an environment for all the processes of their life: they feed on the nutrients entering the body or those substances that are produced in the body itself, excrete waste products, which cause poisoning and intoxication, disruption of the immune system and the production of certain bioactive components. Also, a large accumulation of helminths can cause a violation of the functionality of a particular organ or system. Treatment of helminthiases is a multicomponent procedure that includes several stages. The very first one is diagnosing the problem.
Let's go to the doctor
Often, the presence of parasites in his body is not felt by a person, writing off constant fatigue, irritability, deterioration in appearance to stressful situations, a fast pace of life and improperly organized time. And only the appearance in the feces of such an unsightly sight as a long worm makes you visit a medical specialist. Like most diseases, helminth infection occurs most often in two phases - acute and chronic. The onset of the disease is fixed within 2-4 weeks, rarely when the acute phase occurs within 1-6 weeks from the moment of infection. This period is characterized by rashes on the skin that have signs of exudative or polymorphic origin, conjunctivitis may develop, signs appearupper respiratory tract and dyspeptic disorders. The more massive the helminth lesion, the more serious he alth problems arise. If helminthiasis is not diagnosed in time and measures are not taken to eliminate the invasion, then the disease becomes chronic, which causes many complications. Adequate prevention, regular screening for helminths and quality treatment of the problem help to keep people of all ages he althy.
The longest worms
Parasites that can live in the human body are different. Particularly distinguished are the types of long worms that parasitize in the intestines, liver and are able to migrate through tissues and organs. It is clear that the division by this parameter for parasitic worms is rather arbitrary. But the largest specimens are found in the detachment "tapeworms" - flat long worms, apparently not in vain got its name. Here they differ in size, the ribbon is wide, different types of tapeworms. However, the length of the worm may not be so significant, but the cyst formed by a cluster of individuals can be a much more terrifying sight. Scientists have established that the widest tapeworm (Diphyllobothrium latum) is the most dimensional worm that parasitizes in the human body. Its average length is up to 15 meters. This type of parasite is a strobila, starting from the head - scolex and non-segmented neck. Separate sections - segments of the body of the worm - are called proglottids. As the individual grows, the old proglottids separate from the strobili, and since they also contain maleand female genital organs, then form new individuals. Infection with a wide tapeworm can occur in different climatic regions - from subarctic latitudes to the temperate zone. The life cycle of this parasite takes place in various habitats. So, eggs during the development period are carried out in freshwater reservoirs. If the conditions are favorable - the water temperature reaches 150С, then on the 6-16th day a ciliate larva hatches from the egg. The viability of the broad tapeworm egg lasts up to six months, which explains the vitality of this species of parasite. The larvae enter small crustaceans, and then into the muscles and organs of the fish eating the crustaceans. This is how 6-8 weeks of the life cycle of the tapeworm go. With infected fish meat, which has not undergone thorough heat treatment, the larva that has developed to a plerocercoid enters the body of the final host - a human or other mammal that can eat fish. The wide tapeworm parasitizes in the small intestine, where it sticks to the walls with the help of two slits, bothria. In the human body, this helminth can live up to 25 years, causing diphyllobothriasis, manifested by nausea, vomiting, decreased appetite, and abdominal pain. Some patients develop pernicious, B12-deficient anemia. Often, such an invasion does not give visible external manifestations, and then the disease is established only when the feces are analyzed for helminths and eosinophilia is detected.
Bull tapeworm
Another longest worm in a person is a bovine tapeworm, also related to tapeworms. Another common name for this helminth is tapeworm. The length of one individual of this worm can reach up to 12 meters, and it consists of the size of segments, of which there are up to 5,000 in one individual! On the scolex (head) of the bovine tapeworm there are 4 suckers that do not have hooks. With their help, the helminth sticks to the walls of the small intestine, where it can live up to 20 years, releasing eggs into the environment along with feces. The life cycle of this long worm consists of two phases: in the form of an egg and a larva, it lives in the body of cattle, and then through infected meat that has not undergone the necessary cooking, it enters the human intestine. The helminthiasis that causes bovine tapeworm is called teniarinhoz. It is expressed in mechanical damage to the walls of the small intestine, negatively affects the motor and secretory functions of the intestine. Painful sensations arise when the parasite segments pass through the Bauginian damper and resemble attacks of appendicitis. The patient experiences a constant feeling of hunger, he develops bulimia. Most often, the problem of helminthiasis is detected during the analysis of feces, where segments of the bovine tapeworm are present.
Pork tapeworm
Long worms in humans is also such a representative of helminths as tapeworm. Like its relative bovine tapeworm, this parasite has two stages of development, and if for the first phase of the life cycle the host can be both a mammal and a person, then the final second phase takes place only in the human body. The main difference between pork tapeworm and bovine tapeworm inin addition to four suckers, there are also two circles of special hooks, with the help of which the parasite almost firmly bites into the intestinal mucosa. The strobilus of this type of helminth is up to 3 meters long. The danger of this type of helminthiasis lies in the fact that if not a larva, but worm eggs enter the human body, then it becomes an intermediate habitat in which the oncosphere develops and forms - a six-hooked embryo that can penetrate through the intestinal walls into the lymphatic flow, spreading with it along body and affecting many organs. Having fixed in place, the oncosphere is reborn into a Finn - a full round embryo, causing a serious disease of cysticercosis, which can be fatal. As the final owner of an adult individual, a person becomes ill with teniasis, the characteristic signs of which are not, except for a violation of well-being and the detection of helminth eggs in the feces.
Long worm from Africa
One of the types of helminths that can be infected in the subtropics of Africa or Asia has an unusual name - dragon, in Latin Dracunculus medinensis. The female of this worm causes the development of dracunculiasis. Infection can occur orally - a person or animal drinks water in which there are small crustaceans infected with helminth larvae. The rishta larva, gnawing through the walls of the intestine, penetrates the lymphatics and, migrating through the body, reaches puberty. After mating, the male helminths die, but the females penetrate the subcutaneous tissue, whichbecomes the habitat of a growing mature individual. The length of such a parasite reaches 80 centimeters. While the worm lives under the skin, ulcers form on the skin, through which, upon contact, the parasite throws larvae into the water. The longest worm that affects the subcutaneous layer can only be removed from the human or animal body by surgery.
Migratory worm
Few people know that the long spirometer worm (Spirometra erinacei) can affect the following systems of the human body:
- visceral organs;
- skeletal muscles;
- spinal cord;
- subcutaneous tissue;
- central nervous system.
You can get infected with this helminth in countries that traditionally eat amphibious animals - snakes and frogs, since they are the additional hosts of the helminth. On average, the length of this worm reaches 60 centimeters, but there is evidence that a worm of about 1.5 meters was found. For this type of helminth, a person is an intermediate host, while the main host will be a carnivore of the cat or dog family, including a domestic cat or dog. Getting into the cavity of the human body, the larva of the worm begins to migrate, affecting the internal organs and systems. Depending on the location of the larvae, the signs of the manifestation of the disease - sparganosis will depend. There have been cases of detection of larvae of Spirometra erinacei in the conjunctiva of the eye, under the skin, in the nervous tissue. Proliferative sparganosis is especially dangerous. This type of disease can develop in a person up to 25 years of age andlead to death. Fortunately, infection with this type of helminth in humans is extremely rare. The problem is diagnosed only when analyzing a removed cyst, in which helminth larvae are found. With cerebral forms of sparganosis, tomography is used in diagnosis, which is able to "see" the worm in the tissues of the body.
Ascarids
What is the name of the longworm, the infection with which is most common in developed countries? This is an ascaris, and science has discovered several dozen varieties of such worms. In the human body, Ascaris lumbricoides, the human roundworm, most often parasitizes. The difference between this type of helminth and all those discussed above is that it does not have attachment elements - roundworms are constantly moving, and not with blood or lymph flow, but on their own, towards the food masses. Also roundworm worms have a peculiar skeleton consisting of 10 cuticle layers. It protects the parasite from mechanical damage, exposure to toxins and digestive enzymes. They are bisexual organisms that reproduce sexually. Females grow in length up to 40-50 centimeters, males are somewhat smaller - up to 10-15 centimeters. It has been established that the female lays about 240,000 eggs in the human intestine every day! Eggs have a five-layer shell, and therefore are reliably protected, almost the same as adults. The eggs develop into larvae in the ground at a temperature of about 25 degrees. This type of worm enters the human body through food - poorly washed hands, vegetables and fruits becomesource of infection. Once in the host organism, microscopic larvae hatch from the eggs, penetrating through the walls of the gastrointestinal tract into the bloodstream. With the blood stream, they are transferred to the lungs, where they continue their development. With coughed up sputum, the larvae again enter the intestine, where they reach puberty. The cycle is repeated. Many have noticed worms in the feces - white, thin, long - most likely these are roundworms. This type of helminth damages the intestinal mucosa, has a toxic effect on the body with the products of its vital activity. This causes chronic fatigue, apathy, and a decrease in vitality.
larvae in cysts
The longest worm in a person, as scientists have established to date, is a broad tapeworm. But parasites can be not only overall in this parameter. Some helminths are able to form colonies that grow to awesome sizes. These are echinococci. For this type of parasites, a person is a temporary shelter - the larvae of the parasite enter the intestine orally. They have six hooks located at the end of the srobile. With the help of these devices, the larvae penetrate the intestinal walls into the bloodstream of the portal vein, through which they enter the liver, bones, lungs, and muscles. According to the habitat, the oncosphere of the larva grows, forming a bubble. New bubbles appear on its surface, in which scolexes develop, similar to those of adults. It is the formation of cysts that is the main symptom of echinococcosis. The disease is very dangerouscysts can be quite voluminous, reaching 20 centimeters in diameter. These formations compress the surrounding organs and tissues, and toxic substances released by helminths poison the body. In addition, the fluid, which is filled with cysts with larvae and scolex of echinococcus, is poisonous to the human body. Although these thin long worms parasitize in the body of animals, their larvae can cause serious violations of human he alth. In addition, at the moment there is no medical treatment for echinococcosis, only surgery can defeat the disease.
Dubious record holders
People are interested in knowing about the very best. Here is such information about helminths-record holders. The longest worm ever found in the human intestine is a wide tapeworm. The largest specimen of this species of parasite reached a length of 25 meters! The worm, which was "pulled out" from under the skin of a resident of a subtropical region, had an almost two-meter length. Such worms are removed only surgically, pulling out without damaging the integrity of the strobili, so as not to cause intoxication. Perhaps, the search for an organism that claims to be the "longest worm" is of interest only to scientists, for a person himself to become infected with even smaller helminths is a serious danger to he alth, and in some cases to life.
The most important thing is prevention
In today's civilized society, the most common problem is long worms in a child. Children are the mostare at risk of infection with parasites due to age and insufficient activity of the immune system. To prevent the penetration of parasites into the body, people of all ages must carefully and constantly observe preventive measures. Long transparent worms are absolutely unnecessary neighbors in the human body, and simple rules of personal hygiene will help you avoid a close dangerous acquaintance:
- Raw meat and fish must be thoroughly cooked at the required temperatures and for the required time, including products intended for pet food (cats and dogs). The use of dishes from raw or half-cooked meat or fish, especially of unknown and dubious origin, is unacceptable.
- You should swim only in designated areas, natural water bodies should be examined for microflora. Swimming in water bodies near animal watering places should be avoided. It is not necessary to set up picnic areas in these places.
- All family members should be regularly screened for helminth infection. The same applies to pets that need to be given anthelmintic drugs for prevention purposes.
- In addition to general house cleaning, you should regularly sanitize children's household items, toys, feeding areas and pet toilets.
- Personal hygiene rules - washing hands, fruits, vegetables - an integral part of the prevention of helminthiasis.
Both long roundworms and their flat or other shaped relatives are dangerous creatures that can cause significant harm to he alth. Whatever the size of the parasites, they take useful substances from the body, poisoning it with the products of their vital activity. Helminthiases cannot always be cured by drug therapy, in some cases parasites can only be removed from the body by surgery, and this is an additional burden on the body weakened by parasites. Therefore, preventing infection is the best way to stay he althy.
