Fasciolosis is a parasitic invasion, which is considered a dangerous and difficult to treat pathology found mainly in animals. In humans, this disease is diagnosed less often, but he is also at risk of infection.
The development of fascioliasis in humans occurs mainly in the liver and biliary tract, sometimes the helminth affects the pancreatic tissue.
Fasciolosis is caused by a microorganism such as liver fluke - a flatworm fluke from the genus Fasciola. This parasite has a leaf-shaped body with two suckers. Adult individuals of fasciola hepatica reach 20-30 mm in length and 7-12 mm in width. A large variety of this parasite reaches a length of 70 mm, a width of 12-14 mm.
The photo of fasciola hepatica presented in the article allows you to get an idea about this parasite.
The structure of the fluke includes:
- small esophagus;
- sucking machine;
- abdominal sucker;
- two branches of the intestine;
- ovaries;
- yolk bottles;
- testes;
- womb.
Development cyclesParasite
The main carrier of fasciola hepatica is cattle, goats and sheep. With the excretion of the feces of infected animals, the larvae of the parasite penetrate into the environment. At the next stage of development, they need freshwater warm water. The optimum temperature is considered to be 23 °C. If the temperature is low, about 10 °C, the development of parasites stops, and too high, about 30 °C, is detrimental to fluke larvae.
Consider the fasciola cycle.
Under favorable conditions, after 10-17 days, parasites appear from the eggs, capable of moving independently. The next stage in development is the intermediate host, the freshwater snail. This phase is mandatory for this microorganism and lasts approximately 1-2 months. After that, the larva again enters the liquid medium, but already in a special protective shell. Then she attaches herself to the leaves and stems of plants, or simply sits on the surface of the water and waits for her prey.
When a fluke enters the body of a human or animal by ingestion, it reaches the digestive tract, where its protective shell dissolves. Next, the parasite breaks through the intestinal wall and enters the abdominal cavity, where the process of its migration to the liver begins. Reaching this organ, hepatic fasciola tries to penetrate the bile ducts.
There is another way to penetrate to the habitat - the fluke enters the blood from the intestines and reaches the liver through the bloodstream (hematogenous method). Parasite migration canlast several months.
After sticking to the wall of the liver of an infected person for 2 months, the fluke forms a hermaphroditic reproductive system. Then, after about 4 months, fasciola begins to lay eggs. The disease in humans can take a very long time, about 5-10 years, in some cases even more.
Routes of infection
Infection of a person with fasciola hepatica occurs in the process of eating untreated water and unwashed plants, by swallowing eggs of the parasite while swimming in open water or in the process of using contaminated water to wash fruits and vegetables.
Therefore, residents of settlements remote from cities, who often use untreated water from reservoirs, are most likely to be infected with this helminth.
It is impossible to catch a fluke from infected people, because the parasite must go through certain stages of development in the body of snails, and only after that the helminth is dangerous to humans.
What are the symptoms of fasciola hepatica?
Symptoms and development of this disease
Parasitic larvae in the process of migration through the human body begin to damage the abdominal cavity, liver cells and Glison's capsule. As a result, allergic reactions, inflammatory processes in the biliary tract and bile stasis often occur.
Fasciola hepatica symptoms are very unpleasant.
The chronic phase of this disease is characterized by significant damage to liver cells, susceptibility to infection by foreign microflora (asresult, abscesses), development of liver fibrosis.
Incubation period for this pathology
Before the first signs of infection become noticeable, some time passes - the incubation period. For hepatic fasciola, it is usually from one week to two months from the moment of infection. During a given period of time, the parasitic microorganism becomes accustomed to the environment of the carrier and begins its migration path to the bile ducts.
Early disease
The acute stage of fascioliasis development occurs during the migration period of larvae through the liver tissues and is caused by the main symptoms:
- allergic reactions and itching;
- excessive weakness;
- abdominal pain;
- fever;
- nausea;
- headaches;
- pain under the ribs on the right side;
- enlargement of the liver in size;
- jaundice (first of all, the sclera of the eyes and the mucous membrane of the mouth turn yellow);
- rapid heart rate;
- Quincke's edema;
- chest pain;
- high blood pressure.
With this disease, the following changes are observed in blood tests:
- increased ESR;
- eosinophilia about 80 – 85%;
- leukocytosis (up to 20-50109/l).
After the helminth has reached the bile ducts, in many patients any symptoms of the disease disappear completely. In certain cases, carriers of this parasite manifest pain in the right hypochondrium andrecurrent symptoms of jaundice.
Sometimes, during the migration of fasciol, hepatica can enter other internal organs: kidneys, lungs, eyes, brain, or penetrate the skin. In such cases, the pathological process occurs with a variety of individual complications.
Chronic disease
The transition of the disease to the chronic stage lasts approximately 3 months after the invasion. All painful manifestations and symptoms at this stage are associated with pathological changes in the liver and biliary tract. The chronic form of the disease occurs with such signs as:
- hepatomegaly - liver enlargement;
- periodic pain in the right hypochondrium and abdomen;
- nausea;
- breaking stool;
- loss of appetite;
- signs of cholestasis.
In an advanced form of the disease, a biochemical blood test can reveal:
- change in blood protein composition;
- increased gamma globulin levels;
- increased activity of enzymes (GGTP, ALT, AST, alkaline phosphatase);
- increased bilirubin levels.
Complications of this pathology
Without proper and phased therapy, many negative consequences of the disease can develop. Long-term invasion of fasciola (in the photo you can see the parasite) causes the following pathologies:
- cirrhosis of the liver;
- hepatitis;
- chronic or purulent cholecystitis;
- subcutaneous abscess;
- anemia;
- purulent angiocholangitis;
- liver abscess;
- lung infection;
- breast damage.
Diagnosis of this unpleasant disease
Identification of the pathological process in the early stages is a rather difficult task, for this the patient needs to contact an infectious disease specialist. The diagnosis should be based on various data:
Epidemiological, including the following circumstances:
- Drinking water from open bodies of water where the water does not meet the standards.
- Bathing in polluted stagnant water.
- Use untreated water when washing dishes or food.
- Eating dirty vegetables and herbs.
- Clinical data - determination of the presence of the above signs of an early or chronic form of the disease.
- The study of data obtained from laboratory studies, which, as a rule, differ for each stage of the development of the pathological process.
In the early stages of fasciola invasion, there is no need to carry out coprooscopy, due to the fact that this helminth begins the process of laying eggs only after 3-4 months. Based on this, a comprehensive blood test for antibodies is initially carried out (reactions of RNGA, ELISA, RIF).
For chronic forms of the disease, the histological coprogram helps to get comprehensive answers. With fascioliasis, stool examination is carried out twice in order to eliminate the risk of displaying untrue eggs in the analyzes that have entered the human body when using canned liver or pate. Sometimesa specialist may order an abdominal ultrasound or tomography.
Differential laboratory tests are also carried out, they help to distinguish pathology from diseases that have similar symptoms: hepatitis, allergic phenomena, various helminthiases, cirrhosis of the liver, cholecystitis, gastroduodenitis, cholangitis, etc.
To successfully get rid of the parasite, you must contact a medical facility in a timely manner, where the correct diagnosis will allow you to prescribe adequate therapy and avoid the dangerous consequences of fasciola infection.
Treatment of this pathology
For each stage of the pathological process, a specific course of treatment is prescribed. In the early stages of the development of the disease, the patient is subject to hospitalization, as for the chronic course of fascioliasis, patients undergo outpatient drug therapy.
The appointment of pharmacological agents for parasites at the initial stage of the course of the disease is prohibited. The destruction of fasciola can lead to the entry into the body of a huge amount of toxic waste products of these parasites, which will significantly complicate the patient's situation when prescribing anthelmintic drugs without prior preparation.
Therefore, pathogenetic and symptomatic treatment of fasciola hepatica (in the picture) is prescribed, which is aimed at relieving pain and acute manifestations of helminthic invasion.
In this case, the following drugs are prescribed:
- choleretic;
- sorbents;
- hepatoprotective;
- probiotics;
- antispasmodics;
- Prednisolone is used for hepatitis symptoms;
- with the development of the inflammatory process, antibacterial drugs are prescribed;
- antihistamines.
After the pronounced signs of infection with fasciola hepatica subside, treatment is continued with drugs from the anthelmintic group. In this case, the following are considered fixed assets:
- Biltricide;
- Chloxyl.
During the course of treatment, rest is necessary, and the therapeutic process itself must be controlled by the attending physician.
For the treatment of advanced stages of fascioliasis, antispasmodics and physiotherapy are used. When the pain syndrome is not pronounced, choleretic drugs are used. Also, during therapy, "Chloxil" and means are prescribed, the action of which is aimed at strengthening the body. In a chronic course, antibiotics can also be prescribed, in cases where the patient has inflammatory processes.
Anthelmintic drugs for fascioliasis are prescribed only after preliminary preparation. After the end of treatment with anthelmintic drugs, medications for symptomatic therapy are also continued. In addition, antihistamines are used: Tavegil, Suprastin, Tsetrin, Loratadin, and others.
All this will help get rid of fasciola hepatica.
Treatment with folk remedies
With this type of parasitic invasion, some means are widely usedtraditional medicine, which include:
- 1 kg of sorrel leaves pour 1 liter of silicon water, cook in a water bath for 2 hours, after which the broth is filtered, the raw material is squeezed out. It is necessary to add 50 g of sugar to it, boil it up to a volume of 1 cup and take 1-2 sips during the day. With cholelithiasis, s alt metabolism disorders, gout, kidney pathologies and during pregnancy, the use of sorrel or medicines based on it is not recommended.
- Drink from wolf flowers (in a ratio of 1:50) take half a tsp. 3 times a day. Tea helps reduce ascites. The flowers of this plant are highly poisonous, so taking the drink requires caution and medical supervision.
- 1 tbsp l. centaury herbs pour 200 ml of silicon water, insist, strain. Take 1 tbsp. l.
- 100 g of barberry roots pour 1 liter of grape wine, insist in a dark place for 1 month, shaking, then boil for 20–25 minutes, strain. Take 20 ml 3 times a day.
Prevention of this pathology
In order to avoid infection with liver fluke, a number of preventive measures are being taken:
- The possibility of penetration of untreated water from reservoirs into the body is excluded, for this simple boiling is used, and in cases where it is not possible to limit the risk of infection in this way, it is necessary to filter the water through a cloth.
- Eat only clean vegetables and herbs that have been thoroughly washed.
- Veterinarypreventive measures aimed at reducing the incidence of livestock diseases, and which include the use of fresh hay, the fight against various mollusks in water bodies near grazing animals.
- Ensure animal and human disease detection and timely treatment.
In most cases, with timely treatment, fascioliasis can be completely cured.
