People often diagnose various helminthiases, among which there is often a dangerous disease, such as toxocariasis. It occurs when small enough parasites from the genus Toxocara spp are infested. In spite of the fact that a person can not be their constant master, and they never become in their organism as adults, capable of reproduction, larvae hatched from eggs cause significant, often irreparable harm to the patient's health. Determine the presence of people toxocar only on the analysis of blood, feces on the eggs of worms in this case is ineffective. In general, among the population, antibodies to Toxocara spp, in the absence of a corresponding symptomatic disability, are found quite often. This suggests that the majority of infected people, this invasion is secretive and does not give obvious clinical manifestations.
Many patients who have been diagnosed with toxocarias are interested in how the worms that provoked this disease look and what their life cycle is like. Find answers to the questions you ask is very simple. As follows from the description, only the eggs of adult helminths living in members of the canine family( Toxocara canis) are capable of causing the disease.
They look like askarids, differ only in size. The length of adults varies from 4 to 18 cm. This can be clearly seen in the photo, available on the Internet or parasitology reference books. Photographs and videos located there provide exhaustive information about the ways in which an adult or child gets intoxicating eggs, how they look, and about the cycle of their development. The study of the presented descriptions of these worms, photos and video materials about them makes it possible to avoid the risk of invasion to the maximum.
Life cycle of tokokar
The life cycle of these parasites is quite complex. Specialists distinguish 3 options: the main and 2 auxiliary. The diagrams are as follows:
- Dogs, the main host, excrete feces with eggs of worms in the soil, where they mature and again enter the organisms of representatives of this order. In size, they are so microscopic that 1 gram of stool is usually contained in an amount of 15,000 pieces. See how they look, you can only under a microscope or in a photo;
- 1 variant auxiliary, also occurring exclusively in animals, is that the larva of Toksokara canis, located in the intestine of the pregnant female, passes to the fetus. In his body, she makes a complete migration, and, reaching the intestine, turns into an adult helminth;
- 2 auxiliary variant proceeds according to the following chain: dogs or other representatives of the dog family - soil - paratenic( reservoir) host. They may be birds, livestock or earthworms. Infection with toxocarosis in this case occurs when they are eaten by dogs.
A person can also be a paratenic host. But he does not transmit the disease, therefore in life the parasite is a biological dead end. In humans, the toxocar migration proceeds as follows. From the swallowed mature eggs in the small intestine hatch larvae, which gnaw through the mucous membrane and penetrate into the blood vessels. On them they migrate to the liver. In this organ, some of the microscopic larvae are deposited and cause a granuloma of the liver in humans. The remaining larvae with blood flow penetrate into the heart. After passing a small circle of blood circulation, they fall into a large circle, and with it are delivered to the rest of the vital organs of man.
Toksokaroz has in code 10 the code B83.0.This code allows specialists who saw him in the patient's outpatient card to determine what kind of a disease is in this situation, and to prescribe the appropriate treatment. All ICD codes 10 are understandable to doctors all over the world, so the appointment of them for the therapy of ailment is simple enough. In the paper version or the ICD 10 electronic base, complete sets of medicines are also available that can completely cure an adult or a child from toxocariasis. But it must be remembered that self-treatment of a patient who has a history in the ICD code 10 B83.0, indicating that his body is Toxocara spp, is strictly prohibited. The larvae of these worms cause very dangerous pathologies, so getting rid of them is the prerogative of an experienced specialist.
Disease of human toxemias
People are only carriers of this disease. It is impossible to infect him from a sick patient, since the human body is an atypical habitat for this type of worm. To grow up to an adult capable of reproduction, these helminths can only in the intestines of the animal. To get into the environment dangerous to humans eggs of parasites can with both calves and wool of representatives of the family of dogs. From cats "pick up" toxocarosis is almost impossible.
The peak of this disease in adults and children occurs during the warm season. The reason for this is that in summer the maximum number of eggs of these parasites falls into the soil and, accordingly, into food. The risk group for this helminthiasis are summer residents, dog breeders and hunters, vegetable sellers, veterinarians, and small children playing in the sand. According to clinical signs, it is rather difficult to detect toxocarosis in humans, since its symptoms are nonspecific and resemble other helminthic invasions. The intensity of manifestations of the disease determines the activity of the immune system of the infected patient and the speed of distribution of the larvae of the genus Toxocara spp on the host organism. There are 2 types of toxocarias - ocular and visceral( general).Each of them should be considered separately.
The visceral form of the disease is characterized by the following symptoms:
- Development of a feverish state, which for a long time keeps elevated temperature, profuse sweating, weakness, chills and itchy skin rashes;
- In case of defeat by lung larvae, a person begins to worry about coughing with dry and wet wheezing, reminiscent of a cold or bronchitis;
- Further spread of parasites leads to abdominal pain, bowel dysfunction, spleen and liver enlargement.
In the absence of treatment, visceral toxocarias lead to pneumonia. In children, especially boys, it occurs much more often than in adults. This is due to the fact that this category of patients spend most of their time digging in the ground.
Eye toxocariosis develops when microscopic in size larvae of worms get into human eyes. Usually they affect one eye and cause inflammation of the lens and the iris( uveitis).Also, the larvae of these parasites can cause the patient's optic neuritis or abscess of the eyeball. If an eye form of this helminthiosis is detected, immediate treatment should be performed, since its absence will cause a complete loss of vision.
Adult patients who are diagnosed with toxocarosis should remember that successful self-medication of this disease is a myth. Help in this situation can only therapy with medication. For the treatment of the disease, antinematodose drugs such as Ditrazine cetrat( Diethylcarbamazine), Mintezol( Tiabendazole) and Vermox( Mebendazole) are used. But they all have one significant disadvantage. These drugs are harmful only to migratory larvae toxocar and have no effect on those parasites that have penetrated the tissues of an adult patient or child. Dosage of drugs is selected only by a specialist individually for each person. Usually, several courses of treatment for this helminthic invasion are carried out, since one is not enough to completely get rid of the helminth larvae.
Prevention of infection with worm-toxocar
To prevent infection with larvae of these parasites, causing serious health problems and difficult to treat, it is necessary to take appropriate preventive measures. Most of them should be carried out by landscaping and communal services. But the main preventive measures to prevent infection are strict adherence to rules of personal hygiene for adults and children. The general requirements for the prevention of toxaecorrosis are as follows:
- After contact with animals or soil, thorough hand washing is required. This is especially true for children who are in close contact with stray dogs or cats and playing in sandboxes, which are a toilet for animals;
- Foods that can contain particles of earth, especially greens and vegetables, require treatment with hot water. This will help remove the toxocar eggs on them and prevent the possible development of pathology in this case;
- At home dogs it is necessary to conduct preventive deworming on a regular basis and in a timely manner;
- Utilities should ensure that the dogs are allowed to walk only at special sites, and not in the areas of kindergartens and schools.
Also in order to prevent mass infection of children with toxocarosis, it is necessary to monitor that regular substitution of sand in the sandboxes is performed on the children's playgrounds. Only if all these preventive measures are observed, it is possible to avoid the risk of contracting this dangerous disease.