Echinococcosis, symptoms in humans and treatment of the disease refer to the office of the infectious disease doctor and surgeon. The disease is difficult to treat with medications, so the main treatment is performed surgically, in which doctors try to remove the cysts with the parasite.
Echinococcosis - what is it in humans?
Echinococcosis refers to rare diseases that occur in areas with developed livestock. The causative agent of the disease is echinococcus - a flat worm. It parasitizes in the organisms of predatory animals. Domestic and wild animals, humans are an intermediate link and simultaneously with this biological impasse, because they do not secrete the eggs of the parasite into the environment.
The echinococcus can reach up to 9 mm in length. It has a high survivability: it transfers the temperature from -30 ° C to + 30 ° C and can live for several months in the soil. The body of the parasite has suckers and hooks, by means of which it is attached to the walls of the intestine. Echinococcus can parasitize in any organ, but often it affects the lungs and the liver. The organism receives the greatest harm with echinococcosis from cysts, which disrupt the activity of the organ and lead to complications in the work of other organs and organ systems. A ruptured cyst can lead to death of a person.
How do they get infected with echinococcus?
The main hosts of sexually mature echinococcus worms are predatory animals, however dogs, cats and domestic animals can also become infected with this parasite. An infected animal secretes eggs of worms along with feces into the soil, from where they come to plants, greens and vegetables. Infection with echinococcosis occurs both through unwashed vegetables, and by direct contact with the infected animal. Often, children suffer from echinococcosis, for the reason that they often come into contact with dogs and cats and forget to wash their hands.
Life Cycle of Echinococcus
The cycle of development of echinococcus includes such stages:
- The larva enters the body. After the parasite enters the gastrointestinal tract, it begins to dissolve under the influence of gastric juices. Appearing larva moves into the intestine, and then carries the bloodstream through the body. Often it settles in the liver or lungs. The other organs account for no more than 7 cases out of a hundred.
- Bubble stage. In the final organ, the parasite begins to form an echinococcus bladder, or cyst. The cyst grows slowly, adding no more than 1 mm per month. Gradually, the bubble turns into a huge ball, pressing on the nerve endings and blood vessels. The growth of the cyst is associated with the multiplication of the larvae inside.
Pathogenic effect of echinococcus
The larva of echinococcus in the process of its life releases the products of metabolism into the human body. Accumulation of these substances leads to intoxication of the body and impaired liver function. When echinococcosis develops, the symptoms in a person and the condition of the body become closely related to the formation of cysts that press on the organs and disorders in the functioning of the liver. The rupture of cystic lesions leads to anaphylactic shock and death.
Echinococcus - symptoms in humans
Even when the body has been developing echinococcosis for several months, the symptoms in a person may not manifest. The signs of echinococcosis depend on the stage of the disease:
- Asymptomatic stage. After a person has a disease echinococcosis, the symptoms can manifest themselves only after a few years. During this period, the larva finds itself a permanent place and begins to grow.
- Stage of clinical manifestations. During this period, itching appears, and the person begins to feel pain in the place of localization of the larva, lethargy, decreased appetite, nausea. Periodically, there may be an increase in temperature to 37.5 ° C.
- Stage of complications. A ruptured cyst leads to the appearance of peritonitis or pleurisy . Suppuration of the cyst leads to the appearance of high fever and severe intoxication.
Echinococcosis of the liver
In 60-70% of cases, echinococcus is localized in the liver region. For several months and even years the patient may not know about the existence of a parasite in the body. By the time the patient is diagnosed with liver echinococcosis, the symptoms will be pronounced. Among the signs of the disease are:
- general malaise;
- decreased appetite, weight;
- nausea;
- pain and heaviness in the right hypochondrium and in the stomach;
- changes in stool.
If you do not remove the cyst at this stage, then the suppuration of the cyst may begin. The appearance of an abscess leads to a deterioration in overall health, a rise in temperature, pain in the liver. Squeezing the bile duct of the cyst can lead to the development of mechanical jaundice . A ruptured cyst with liver echinococcosis is fraught with a pronounced allergic reaction, peritonitis and anaphylactic shock. The spread of the cyst through the body leads to the development of secondary echinococcosis.
Echinococcosis of the lungs
When studying echinococcosis, symptoms in humans and treatment of the disease, doctors noticed that 15 to 20% of cases of parasitic infection occur in the lungs. This type of disease is the most dangerous, because it is difficult to treat, it develops faster and it is harder. Lung invasions are common in countries with a hot climate and developed cattle breeding. With echinococcosis of the lung, several cysts with a single-chambered shape are often formed.
Echinococcosis of the lung can be primary and secondary, developing as a result of infection from the main organ affected by the echinococcus. Since the lung tissue has an elastic structure, the cyst in it can develop to large sizes and contain several liters of fluid. If the lungs develop echinococcus, the symptoms will be as follows:
- pain in the chest ;
- cough with sputum, having veins of blood;
- dyspnea;
- respiratory disorders, bronchospasm ;
- itching, rashes;
- headaches, nausea.
Complications arising from lung echinococcosis are life-threatening. Suppuration of the cyst leads to the development of an abscess of this organ. If the cyst bursts into the bronchi, the patient will suffer coughing attacks with suffocation and abundant phlegm. The breakthrough of the cyst into the pleural cavity leads to pleurisy and pyopneumothorax, and to the pericardium to the tamponade of the heart. A ruptured cyst is always accompanied by a risk of anaphylactic shock.
Echinococcosis of the brain
Echinococcosis of the brain is a rare disease, accounting for about 3% of all cases of infection with echinococcus. Echinococcosis of the brain can be combined with a parasitic lesion of the liver or lungs. The disease manifests itself as the development of a cyst, localized in the white matter of the frontal, occipital or parietal lobes. Multiple cysts with this type of disease are rare.
If the body develops echinococcosis of the brain, the symptoms in humans can be as follows:
- headache;
- dizziness;
- epiprids;
- problems with the psyche;
- paresis;
- impaired vision;
- deterioration of cognitive abilities, dementia.
Echinococcosis of the kidney
Echinococcosis of the kidney is in seventh place among all cases of echinococcal lesions. There are two forms of this disease: one-chamber cyst and multi-chamber, but the first form develops much more often. With a strong increase in the cyst can connect with neighboring organs: the intestine, liver, spleen, diaphragm. Suppuration of the parasitic cyst can lead to its rupture and outflow of contents into the kidney, which leads to the appearance of a purulent-inflammatory process in the body.
Signs of echinococcosis of the kidney can manifest themselves several years after the parasite enters the organ. If the body develops echinococcosis of the kidney, symptoms in humans can appear only after a cyst rupture or with a strong increase in it. This disease can indicate such symptoms:
- renal colic ;
- changes in urine;
- general weakness;
- symptoms of intoxication.
Echinococcosis of the heart
Echinococcosis of the heart occurs in 0.2-2% of individuals affected by the echinococcus parasite. The worm enters the heart muscle through the bloodstream and is often localized in the left ventricle. The development of the cyst before the onset of symptoms of the disease in humans can be up to five years. Echinococcosis of the heart, the symptoms of which are similar to heart disease, are diagnosed with difficulty. Maturation of the cyst causes the patient such symptoms:
- heart rhythm disturbance, tachycardia;
- pain in the region of the heart and a feeling of squeezing in the chest;
- dyspnea;
- cough;
- cyanosis of the extremities.
Diagnosis of echinococcosis
Timely diagnosis of echinococcosis is hampered by the absence of symptoms at the initial stage of infection and the absence of specific symptoms. When collecting a patient's medical history, the doctor should consider whether the patient is not related to livestock, whether he has contact with animals, how often this disease occurs in the area. To confirm or remove the diagnosis, laboratory methods are used: blood biochemistry, urine analysis, sputum examination, Casoni allergy test and blood for echinococcus (serological reaction), which detects antibodies to echinococcus.
If necessary, the analysis on echinococcus is supplemented by instrumental methods:
- Ultrasound of the abdominal cavity or specific organ;
- CT or MRI of the brain;
- chest X-ray and chest CT;
- Echo, coronary, ECG;
- analysis of duodenal fluid;
- liver biopsy;
- angiography of the celiac trunk.
Echinococcosis - treatment
The echinococcus parasite penetrates and develops inside the organ, therefore the treatment of echinococcosis is difficult and often leads to repeated infection. In medicine, there are cases when eshinococcosis, the symptoms of a person in this disease disappear, the cyst dies itself, but this happens very rarely. At the moment there is one effective way how to treat echinococcosis. This is a surgical procedure. Anthelmintic therapy without surgery does not give the necessary results, so it is used only after the removal of the parasitic cyst.
All methods of treatment of echinococcosis, except for surgical operation, are questionable and not scientifically confirmed. Traditional medicine offers its own ways to combat the parasite, but the peculiarities of the development of cystic formations and their structure reduce any methods of conservative treatment to naught. When identifying echinococcus in the body should immediately agree to surgical removal of the parasite from the body. Otherwise, you can wait for the rupture of the cyst, which leads to serious complications and death.
Echinococcosis - recommendations
The echinococcus parasite in the course of its vital activity poisons the body with metabolic products. This affects the overall health of the patient and the activity of the liver and brain. Therefore, after removing the parasite from the body, it is necessary to restore not only the affected organ, but the entire organism.
After surgery, it is recommended that you follow these rules:
- Nutrition should be fully and balanced.
- It is important to take medications to improve blood flow and central metabolism.
- To be engaged in feasible physical culture.
- To walk outside.
- Take antiparasitic drugs.
- Be careful with animals so as not to get infected with new parasites.
- Carefully observe the rules of personal hygiene.
Echinococcosis - drugs
Disease echinococcosis refers to complex parasitic infections. On the echinococcus worm, pharmacological preparations and medicines for traditional medicine hardly ever function. Antiparasitic therapy is performed after excision of the cyst. It includes such drugs:
- Means for disturbing metabolic processes in parasites: Albendazole, Mebendazol, Praziquantel.
- Means causing paralysis in parasites: Pirantel, Levamisol, Nichlosamide.
Echinococcus is an operation
During a surgical operation, it is important for the doctor to remove the overgrown cyst so that it does not burst and its contents do not spread throughout the body. Otherwise, postoperative complications and secondary infection with a parasite may occur. When there is no way to extract the whole cyst, or in cases when it has grown to the organ, excision of the part of the organ is performed. Cysts of large size, which are difficult to remove, dissect in the body, extract the contents, treat them with antiseptic and antiparasitic solutions and suture them.
The effectiveness of surgical intervention depends on the number of parasitic cysts, their size, location, connectivity with other organs. Difficulty is the removal of echinococcus from the brain, because in this case it is likely to damage the brain structures. With multiple echinococcus lungs, doctors try to remove those cysts that squeeze the tissues of the organ. In this case, it is possible to prolong the life of a person, but it is not possible to completely cure it.
Prophylaxis of echinococcosis
Echinococcus a person is seriously diagnosed and can cause death. For this reason, care should be taken not to become infected with this disease:
- Wash hands thoroughly before eating.
- When cooking, heat the meat strongly.
- Systematically conduct deworming of domestic dogs.
- Do not stroke stray dogs.
- Do not drink water from natural water.