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PLEN

Death begins in the large intestine

Hippocrates already said: "Man is born healthy, all diseases come to him through the mouth from food"

It is not important what causes disease, but what removes it

PARASITIC DISEASES

In humans there are many parasitic diseases, some cause clear disease symptoms, others for many months, or even years, do not cause ailments or the symptoms occur periodically, irregularly and with varying intensity.

Most parasites inhabit the human digestive tract, causing symptoms such as: lack of appetite, abdominal pain, the area of the liver and gallbladder, nausea, elevated body temperature, vomiting.

Among the parasites most often encountered in Poland are: tapeworms, human roundworm, pinworms and giardia, and among the most dangerous: Trichinella spiralis, Toxoplasma gondi and hydatid tapeworm.

GROUP: NEMATODES-ROUNDWORMS

ASCARIASIS (Ascaridosis)

Ascariasis is one of the most common parasitoses and belongs to the most widespread parasites inhabiting the digestive tract, mainly the small intestine of humans. Askariasis - a parasitic disease of the small intestine, caused by the human roundworm - Ascaris lumbricoides, the pig roundworm - Ascaris suis, the bird roundworm - Toxocara canis or the cat roundworm - Toxocara cati.

In the intestine, larvae hatch from eggs, which pass through the intestinal wall into small blood vessels and with the bloodstream to the liver. There they grow to a size of 1 mm. From the liver they return to the bloodstream, and then to the lungs and heart, where their further growth to 2 mm occurs. Then the larvae can pierce the walls of pulmonary alveoli and through the bronchial tree reach the trachea and pharynx. Coughed up and swallowed with mucus, young larvae again reach the small intestine and remain there. The female human roundworm can reach a length of up to 40 cm, lives 6-12 months, the male is slightly smaller.

Symptoms of ascariasis:
anemia, abdominal pain, indigestion, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or constipation, lack of appetite, rash, itchy skin, conjunctivitis, bronchitis, headaches, irritability, fever, persistent cough; often the symptoms are similar to pneumonia (larvae cause coughing by irritating the bronchial epithelium). Children develop worse physically and mentally, lose weight. A large number of roundworms can lead to intestinal obstruction.

PINWORM INFECTION (Oxyurosis)

A very widespread parasitic disease (over a billion cases a year, worldwide) caused by the human pinworm - Enterrobius vermicularis syn. Oxyuris vermicularis. Pinworm eggs easily enter the human body via the respiratory tract, with contaminated food through direct contact with an infected person, and even through objects and dust.

Pinworms live in the terminal part of the small intestine, the large intestine, sometimes in the appendix. They feed on sucked contents and substances contained in intestinal contents. They drill into the mucosa with part of their body and mechanically damage it. In some cases they were found encapsulated in the intestinal wall. As a result, point bleeding and erosions occur, sometimes mistaken for symptoms of gastric and intestinal ulcers and hemorrhoids, and often are the cause of hemorrhoids, abscesses and micro-necrosis of the anus.

Symptoms of enterobiasis:
insomnia, night grinding of teeth, bedwetting, nail biting, nervous disorder, abdominal pain, headaches, nausea, loose stool, intestinal disorders, appendicitis, asthmatic symptoms, skin inflammation, rash, itching and redness of the anus. In girls, inflammation of the vulva and vagina sometimes occurs, manifesting as itching, burning and white discharge.

HOOKWORM DISEASE (Ancylostomiasis)

Ankylostomiasis - a parasitic disease of the digestive system, caused by Ancylostoma duodenale - a human parasite belonging to the nematodes. Infection occurs by swallowing eggs found in contaminated water, on unwashed fruits and vegetables, or through contact with soil contaminated with larvae.

Larvae penetrate through the skin of the feet of people walking barefoot and through the mucous membranes of the oral cavity. In both cases, larvae migrate with the bloodstream to the heart and lungs. Through pulmonary capillaries they enter pulmonary alveoli, bronchioles, bronchi, trachea, larynx, pharynx. With respiratory secretions they reach the small intestine and duodenum, where after 4-5 weeks they become sexually mature.

Symptoms:
anemia, microcytic and megaloblastic anemia (pale tongue, skin, mucous membrane, feeling of exhaustion, weak hair, nails, constipation, dizziness), ringing in the ears, shortness of breath, decreased appetite, irritability, insomnia, digestive disorders, suspicion of duodenal ulcer disease. Toxins secreted by the parasite damage bone marrow, causing even greater anemia. In the initial phase of infection, allergic reactions may appear - rash, creeping eruptions, etc. A long-lasting invasion can lead to mental dulling, myocarditis, pericarditis and heart failure.

In this group also occur:

  • NEMATODES (Nematodes)
  • WHIPWORM (Trichuris trichiura)
  • TRICHINELLA (Spiralis) (Trichinella spiralis)
  • INTESTINAL STRONGYLOIDES (Strongyloides stercoralis)
  • HOOKWORMS (Ancylostomatidae)

GROUP: TAPEWORMS-CESTODES

TAPEWORM DISEASE (Taeniasis)

Taeniasis, teniosis, cestolosis (Lat. Taeniasis, Taenia - tapeworm) - parasitic infection of the digestive tract by a tapeworm. There are many species of this parasite; in Poland the most common is the unarmed tapeworm - Taenia saginata, the armed one - Taenia solium, less often the dwarf and the broad fish tapeworm.

In the human body a tapeworm can reach up to 15 meters in length, and the broad fish tapeworm up to 20 meters.

Taeniasis is a zoonotic disease; infection occurs via the oral route through consumption of raw (e.g., steak tartare) or undercooked meat containing the persistent forms of the parasite, so-called cysticerci. In the human intestine, cysticerci transform into mature forms. Fragments of the tapeworm's body (segments) excreted with feces contain eggs, which can infect animals. If a person swallows tapeworm eggs, e.g., along with food or water contaminated with human feces, they themselves become an intermediate host.

Symptoms of tapeworm infestation:
usually asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic: lack of appetite or hunger attacks, weakness, weight loss, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or constipation, insomnia, allergy, anemia, dizziness and headaches. In infected individuals, very serious complications may occur.

UNARMED TAPEWORM (Taenia saginatia)

The unarmed tapeworm - Taenia saginata - a parasite of humans and cattle - is the most common tapeworm in Poland. Infection occurs after eating raw or undercooked beef. It differs from the armed tapeworm, among other things, in that it does not have hooks. Parasite larvae withstand temperatures up to 45 C, freezing meat to -10 C kills larvae after about five days. It reproduces only in humans, who are its definitive host. The parasite does not need a digestive tract, because it lives in the intestines.

There, spherical larvae of the first stage - oncospheres - develop. Segments of the tapeworm filled with eggs are excreted with feces from the human body. Eggs are eaten by the intermediate host. In the cow's intestine, oncospheres are released from their shells and penetrate the mucous membrane of the intestine.

Then they pass through the intestinal wall into blood vessels and with the blood most often migrate to muscles, less often to the liver, lungs, kidneys or meninges. The oncosphere then transforms into the larval stage - cysticerci - a vesicle with the scolex of the tapeworm protruding inward. The scolex takes the shape of the unarmed tapeworm, i.e. it is not equipped with any hooks or rostellum. It usually grows to a size of 10 mm, but there are reports of forms even the size of a chicken egg. When infected meat is eaten, the cysticerci evaginate in the jejunum and transform into mature forms.

ARMED TAPEWORM (Taenia solium)

The armed tapeworm - Taenia solium - also called soliter, is a parasite living in the small intestine of humans. Unlike the unarmed type, it has hooks, with which it attaches to the intestinal wall. It reaches a length of up to 4 meters. Diseases caused by the armed tapeworm are teniosis (infection with cysticerci) and cysticercosis (invasive eggs).

The life cycle is almost the same as in the unarmed tapeworm, with the exception that the intermediate host of the armed tapeworm is the pig, and its larva - cysticercus - has an additional ring of hooks on the scolex. Therefore, one can be infected with the armed tapeworm by eating raw or undercooked pork from an infected pig.

Besides the digestive tract, the armed tapeworm can settle in human muscles and internal organs as a larva - cysticercus. Cysticerci settling in muscles cause pain and impair their function. They may also lodge in other organs (heart muscle, liver, lungs, retina or brain), cause their damage, and even death of the person with tapeworm disease. Particularly dangerous is when the larva reaches the brain. This causes a severe disease called neurocysticercosis.

In this group there are also:

  • DWARF TAPEWORM (Hymenolepis Nana)
  • BROAD FISH TAPEWORM (Diphyllobathrium latum)
  • HYDATID TAPEWORM (Echinococcus granulo sus)
  • MULTILOCULAR TAPEWORM (Echinococcus multilocularis)

GROUPS: PARASITIC BACTERIA AND PROTOZOA

GIARDIASIS (Lamblia-giardiasis)

Giardiasis - one of the most common parasitic diseases in humans, dogs and cats. A parasitic disease of the small intestine caused by protozoa of the species Giardia intestinalis, Giardia duodenalis - intestinal flagellate. It occurs in the form of a trophozoite and a cyst. Infection occurs as a result of consumption of food or water contaminated with human feces and swallowing a parasite cyst.

The protozoan can also be transmitted directly between humans (e.g., between sexual partners). It is possible for a human to become infected from a sick dog or cat, as well as a dog or cat from a sick human. The parasite colonizes the middle section of the digestive tract - the duodenum and the jejunum. The trophozoite, 9-12 um long, 5-15 um wide and 2-4 um thick, attaches with a special suction cup to intestinal microvilli, parasitizes and intensively multiplies in mammals on intestinal epithelial cells or the gallbladder.

In the intestinal lumen it transforms into cysts that are very resistant to environmental conditions, which are excreted in the feces. Cysts appear in the stool as early as 6-15 days after infection. The cyst is oval, 8-12 um long, 6-10 um wide. It is characterized by high resistance to external environmental factors - in chlorinated water at a temperature of 18C it survives up to 3 months, in river or lake water up to several months, in moist feces about 3 weeks. Most often the infection is asymptomatic.

In adults there are nausea, lack of appetite, violent, watery, fermented stools, gas, bloating, cramping abdominal pain, sometimes around the gallbladder, headaches, fatigue, insomnia, allergic reactions, various kinds of rash and low-grade fever. In children parasites cause disturbances in the digestion of fats and carbohydrates, which together with vitamin deficiency and protein loss during diarrhea leads to malnutrition and impaired physical development.

In this group there are also:

  • LEPTOSPIRA (Spirochetes) (Leptospira interrogans)
  • GOLDEN STAPHYLOCOCCUS (Staphylococcus ureus)
  • STREPTOCOCCI (Streptococcus)
  • TOXOPLASMAS (Toxoplasma gonidii)
  • TRICHOMONADS (Flagellates) (Trichomonas)
  • CHLAMYDIA (Chlamydiae)

GROUP: FLUKES-TREMATODES

LIVER FLUKE (Fasciolosis)

Fasciolosis - a parasitic disease caused by the liver fluke. A fluke with a complex life cycle, the adult form parasitizes in the bile ducts of the liver of herbivores (mainly cattle, sheep, goats, wild ruminants, less often horses, pigs, rabbits and humans) - definitive hosts.

The source of infection is contaminated water (e.g., bathing in ponds) or plants on which flukes may be present. In water reservoirs, the first larval generation, the so-called Miracidium or also a "strange creature", hatches from them, transforming into the next larval type - sporocyst. Then the next larval stage - redia - multiplies, and then cercariae. The whole process lasts about 2 months and leads to the production of up to 2000 cercariae from one egg. Then the cercariae lose their tails, encyst and transform into the invasive form - metacercariae. In this form they can survive even half a year in temperatures dropping below -15 C.

After being eaten by the definitive host, the metacercaria reaches the digestive tract. In the intestine, the cyst surrounding the metacercaria is digested, and the released larva pierces the intestinal wall and with the blood reaches the bile ducts, where it grows and reaches sexual maturity. Young flukes live in the liver parenchyma, drilling channels in it; sometimes they can settle in the lungs, lymph nodes, spleen and subcutaneous tissue.

Symptoms and course:
when the parasite enters the liver parenchyma, a traumatic, acute hepatitis develops - hepatitis distomatosa acuta. As a result of mechanical damage, toxic action of the flukes and bile stasis in the ducts, inflammation of the bile duct walls occurs - cholangitis, sometimes purulent cholangitis is found, and the result of these changes is liver cirrhosis. The invasive phase usually manifests as fever of 40-42C, abdominal pain, loss of appetite, bloating, nausea, diarrhea. Chronic disease manifests as general digestive disorders, liver function disorders - e.g., abnormal bile secretion, "gallstone disease", urticaria, sometimes cough, shortness of breath, chest pain, hemoptysis, enlargement of the liver and spleen, ascites, anemia, muscle and adipose tissue atrophy, swelling of lymph nodes, general wasting of the body. The chronic phase may develop months or years after the invasion.

In this group there are also:

BLOOD FLUKE - family schistosomatidae:

  • Schistosoma heamatodium
  • Schistosoma intercalatum
  • Schistosoma japonicum
  • Schistosoma mansoni
  • Schistosoma mekongi
  • CHINESE FLUKE (Clonorchis sinensis)
  • LUNG FLUKE (Paragonimus westernami)
  • CAT FLUKE (Opisthorchis felineus)

TRICHINOSIS (Trichinellosis)

Trichinosis - a severe parasitic disease caused by infection of humans or animals (pig, fox, cat, bear, wolf, rat) with Trichinella spiralis. Infection occurs by eating infected meat that has not been properly heat treated, most often pork or wild boar, less often horse, or its products containing invasive larvae of the parasite.

Trichinella spiralis - a species of parasitic nematode. It is one of the most dangerous human parasites. Infection can have a severe course, sometimes ending in death. The parasite completes its life cycle in a single host. In the human stomach, under the influence of digestive enzymes, encapsulated larvae (previously located in the muscles of the animal) are released from the capsule, migrate to the small intestine, where within 2-3 days they reach sexual maturity and reproduce. Males die, and females enter lymphatic vessels, where the female gives birth to about 1500 larvae. Trichinella does not lay eggs, but gives birth immediately to live larvae. Newborn larvae enter the blood, and with it the striated muscles. When they enter the muscle fiber they curl into a spiral and become encapsulated (cysts form) and eventually calcify.

TYPES OF FUNGI

  • YEASTS (Candida)
  • PENICILLIA (Penicilliu)
  • NOCARDIA (Nocardia)
  • ACTINOMYCES ISRAELII
  • MOLD FUNGI (Mucoraceae)
  • ASPERGILLI (Aspergillus)
  • GEOTRCHOZA
  • TRICHOPHYTONS
  • EPIDERMOPHYTON FLOCCOSUM
  • MYCOSPORUM FUNGI
  • GRANULOMA FUNGOIDES (Mycosis fungoides)
  • MYCOPLASMAS (Mollicutes)
  • SPOROTHRIX (Schenckii)