There are thousands of small, sometimes microscopic, parasites in the world that destroy a strong, intelligent, almost omnipotent creation of nature - man. One such killer is a tapeworm called tapeworm. It causes a severe disease of cysticercosis, the symptoms and outcome of which depend on the location of the worm in the human body. It can be caught easily, and sometimes it is impossible to cure. They say that in order to deal with the enemy, you need to know him by sight. Let's learn more about the parasite and find out why cysticercosis, or as they say, tapeworm is so dangerous.
The life cycle of a helminth
This tapeworm is also called the pork tapeworm. An adult has a tiny (up to 3 mm) head and a very long (up to 6 m) jointed body. On the head there are suckers and hooks with which the parasite clings to the body of the host. Every year, the worm lays about 600 million eggs, which with feces can settle on the ground or grass. Toto develop, they need an intermediate host. When the eggs enter the stomach of a pig (rabbit, hare, dog, wild boar), they hatch into a larva (oncosphere), which looks like a transparent ball with hooks. With the help of these tools, the larvae pierce the walls of the stomach, penetrate the victim into the bloodstream and, with its flow, are carried to all organs. Once in place, the oncospheres grow to a pea called a cysticercus. It has liquid inside. If you look closely, you can see dents on the peas. These are the underdeveloped heads of future worms. All. The tapeworm does not develop further, it is waiting for a permanent owner, which only a person should become. The parasite will “give” him cysticercosis, the symptoms of which are not expressed in the first stages. So the worm has plenty of time to gain a foothold.
Routes of infection
We often have picnics in nature, we cook barbecue. There are few opportunities for hygiene. Many of us love half-baked steaks and chops. All this is good, but you need to remember that the easiest way to catch cysticercosis, the symptoms of which are difficult to distinguish from ordinary irritation and fatigue, is:
- Dirty hands.
- Poorly cooked pork, hare, wild boar meat.
- Unwashed vegetables, herbs (sorrel, dill, parsley).
- Water from reservoirs.
That is, in order not to get sick with a deadly infection, you just need to follow the basic rules. In addition to personal hygiene, it is advisable to inspect the meat before cooking. Worm larvae can be seen with the naked eye. Moreit is better to buy meat only with the seal of sanitary and epidemiological services.
Eggs get on vegetables and greens when gardens and fields are fertilized with manure taken from infected animals.
There is another way of infection with cysticercosis, when the intermediate host of the worm is not an animal, but a person. This disease is called teniosis (teniodosis) and it means that the parasite larvae are in the human intestine. This happens when not cysticerci, but worm eggs enter a person, that is, only the first stage of its life cycle begins. Teniasis is accompanied by frequent vomiting, during which the larvae come out with vomit through the mouth. If at the same time the patient swallows them, they enter his stomach and cysticercosis begins. Therefore, at the first signs of teniasis, and these are abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea, you should immediately consult a doctor and begin treatment.
Pathogenesis and symptoms of cysticercosis
The disease begins from the moment the cysticercus enters the stomach and / or intestines of the victim. There, the gastric juice dissolves the shell of the larva. The previously depressed head protrudes outwards. It already has a whisk with hooks and suction cups that help attach to the walls of the digestive organs, and then seep through them into the blood. Further, the larvae spread throughout the body, settling in the lungs, eyes, heart, brain and spinal cord, and skin. Symptoms and treatment of cysticercosis depend on which organ the parasites have chosen as their place of residence. Developing, they increase in size, put pressure on neighboring cells,causing pain to the owner. The products of their vital activity poison a person. But even the death of a worm brings little good. The body of the parasite can dissolve (leasing occurs). In this case, especially dangerous substances are released, often leading to allergic shock, 20% of which end in death. Sometimes the dead worm calcifies (calcifies), but the inflammatory processes in the affected organs of the victim continue.
Brain damage
The most dangerous type of disease is cysticercosis of the brain. Symptoms in the early stages are:
- light paresis (weakened muscles, sluggish movements);
- minor speech difficulties;
- depression;
- hallucinations;
- psychic seizures alternating with enlightenments;
- nonsense;
- forgetting current events (memory of the past is preserved).
Further appear:
- cerebral edema;
- severe headaches;
- vomit;
- epileptic seizures (alternate with calm intervals).
If cysticerci settle in the ventricles of the brain, symptoms are added:
- headaches to the point of passing out;
- breathing disorder;
- failures in the work of the heart.
The brain worm larvae are chosen most often (approximately 60%). They live there until the age of 18. Parasites are distributed in the superficial layers of the cerebral cortex, in the ventricles, in the meninges, and their number can approach hundreds and eventhousands. Sometimes the picture of the disease resembles meningitis, brain tumor, epilepsy, neurosyphilis. For accurate diagnosis, a study of cerebrospinal fluid, MRI, X-ray, RSK, a blood test is performed, which determines the presence of eosinophils. Treatment, if there are few larvae in the brain, is surgical. If there are a lot of them, then they take Praziquantel. With damage to the ventricles of the brain by larvae and multiple lesions, the prognosis is extremely unfavorable.
Cysticercosis of the spinal cord
The larvae of parasites enter the spinal cord most often from the brain, but they can also immediately from the stomach or intestines, and settle on the roots, membranes or in the medulla itself. This is also a fairly severe cysticercosis, the symptoms of which are as follows:
- pain in legs, arms, back;
- girdle pain in the abdomen and chest;
- violations of movement functions;
- in severe cases, paralysis.
This all happens because the larvae cause adhesions on the roots and shells, as well as the formation of cysts. Spinal cord compression cannot be ruled out.
Diagnosis is carried out using a serological reaction, MRI, myelography.
No specific treatment.
Worm in the eye
A very unpleasant disease is cysticercosis of the eye, the symptoms of which are:
- inflammation of eye tissues (retinitis, uveitis);
- dystrophic changes in them;
- conjunctivitis;
- deterioration of vision up to its complete loss.
When the larva enters the eyehuman, it lives and develops in the retina, eyeball and vitreous body. Periods of visual impairment are replaced by remission, the duration of which decreases from time to time. Diagnosis is carried out using:
- ophthalmoscopy;
- biopsy;
- RSK blood;
- CSF CSF;
- specific blood test.
Treatment if possible, surgical, if not possible - "Praziquantel".
Affected skin
It has already been noted above what causes cysticercosis. The symptoms and treatment for each organ is different. Cysticercosis of the skin, for example, can be called the most successful variant of the disease. It’s a pity, it happens in only 6% of infections with tapeworms. In this case, the larvae of the worm are located in the fatty layer under the skin. In those places, small tubercles appear, hollow to the touch. But they are not empty, but filled with liquid, in which the cysticercus floats. Most often, such tubercles are on the palms, the inner surface of the shoulders, in the muscles, in the chest area. The larva grows from two to ten centimeters in length. Symptoms may not be observed. In some cases, urticaria appears. Surgical treatment.
Pulmonary cysticercosis. Symptoms, signs, treatment
Cysticerci settle in the lungs even less often than in the skin, but they also cause a lot of unpleasant moments. Their greatest number is collected in the interstitial (interstitial) tissue, less often in the peribronchial. Then they, growing up, squeeze the lumen and causeinflammation. The size of the larvae in the lungs reaches 2 cm. A special capsule is formed around each. This process is accompanied by an inflammatory reaction with symptoms of pneumonia. When a parasite dies, it either dissolves or calcifies. The lungs are deformed. An x-ray can show these changes, as well as pockets of parasites that look like shadow spots, ranging in size from grain to cherry. There are usually no obvious symptoms. The patient may complain about:
- cough (sometimes with phlegm or streaks of blood);
- dyspnea after exertion;
- small temperature;
- moderate chest pain.
Diagnosis includes x-ray, fecal worm test, specific blood test for eosinophils.
Treatment is very rare and with single lesions is performed surgically. In most cases, a course of taking Mebendazole or Paraziquantel is prescribed.
Cysticercosis during pregnancy
In other organs, such as the heart and kidneys, extremely rarely, cysticercosis, or tapeworm, can also appear. Symptoms and treatment depend on the location. So, with damage to the heart, the patient has irregular heart rhythms. A small number of patients may develop heart failure.
Very dangerous disease cysticercosis during pregnancy, as the larvae of tapeworms are able to penetrate through the placenta to the fetus. In such cases, the child is born dead or with significant deviations. In addition, cysticercithe uterus (cervix, mucosa) is affected. As a complication, inflammation of the appendages occurs. If the larvae choose the placenta as their place of residence, spontaneous abortion may occur. Treatment of tapeworm in pregnant women is complicated by possible side effects that occur when the parasites die. Often, doctors recommend terminating a pregnancy if cysticercosis of the brain, spinal cord, eyes, uterus, or placenta is detected in the early stages. If a disease is detected at a later date, the decision is made by the attending physician.
