The causative agent of the opisthorchiasis are trematodes - these are flat worms, so-called liver flukes. They enter the human body together with invasive fish. Such helminths are found in the liver, pancreas and gallbladder. They can be and actively multiply in the human body for about 20 years. According to statistics, around 21 million people are infected in the world, many people live in Russia. The eggs of the opisthorchus go a long way, before getting into the human body, we will consider in more detail how the infection occurs.
The eggs of the opisthorchus are almost identical in appearance to those of other species of trematodes. Only under the microscope can one distinguish one species from another by some characteristic features. They are grayish or pale yellow in color, very small in size, oval in shape, but they can not be called symmetrical. At one pole of the egg a tubercle is visible, and on the other - a hardly noticeable lid. Eggs of opisthorchs can be seen in more detail in the photo.
Opisthorch larvae
Opisthorch eggs( pictured) are released into the environment together with the faeces of a sick person or animal. To continue their development they must get into the water, and otherwise perish. If they enter water bodies, the first intermediate host is the freshwater mollusk. In his body the worm undergoes a number of definite changes, the eggs turn into larvae, the so-called cercariae.
Then cercariae enter the water space and penetrate into the body of the fish of the Cyprinidae family. At this stage, the opisthorch larva turns into metacercaria and after about 6 weeks can be contagious for humans. If someone eats an infected and badly thermally processed river fish, then chances are that he will get sick.
What does the opisthorchiasis larva look like? It is in a protective shell or cyst, which is usually gray in color, inside lurks the mobile larva, when it is released from the shell, then it can consider two suckers. The larva that causes this disease is clearly visible in the photo.
Where can I get infected with opisthorchia eggs?
Getting into the human body, metacercaria first penetrate the intestine, where their protective membrane dissolves, and from there they penetrate into the gallbladder, pancreas and liver. They become adults within a month and start laying eggs. Such parasites are considered hermaphrodites, they have both male and female sexual organs. These helminths are very prolific, for example, one individual can produce about 900 eggs a day.
A sick person separates them with feces, but before they become infectious they need to repeat the above described way. If eggs fall on the soil, they very soon die within about a week, and if in the water, then throughout the whole year can be viable.
Opisthorchiasis is very common in the regions of Siberia. Many locals are infected with this dangerous disease. At them this disease usually is chronic, that is, there are no strongly pronounced symptoms, but sometimes there are exacerbations. Such a course of opisthorchiasis can be dangerous, in a few years there may be an oncology in the affected organs. That is why when detecting opisthorch eggs, it is necessary to undergo a specific treatment.
Since the main danger of infection comes from the fish of the Cyprinidae family, in order not to fall ill, you must follow the safety rules. You should stop using raw, slightly salted, lightly salted, poorly fried or poorly boiled fish. Animals should not be given a crude invasive fish, it is better to boil it well to exclude infection.