The most common types of worms in humans

Different types of worms are found everywhere, 80% of those who get this disease are children.Helminths or worms (from the Greek parasite worm) are lower worms that parasitize the body of humans and animals.They cause pathologies called helminths.According to WHO, 50% of the population is infected with pinworms (1.2 billion people), hookworms (900 million) and whipworms (up to 700 million) every year.

What types of worms are there?To date, more than 400 species of worms found in humans have been identified.In humans, all types of worms are divided into 2 large groups: flat and round (nematodes).In turn, the flat ones are divided into tapeworms (cestodes) and flukes (trematodes).Cestodes are also divided into tapeworms and tapeworms.

The idea that worms live only in the intestines in humans is a misconception;they can migrate throughout the body through the bloodstream and settle in different places.All types of parasitic worms feed at the expense of their host and use it for their life cycle.

The cycle of worms in nature

In order to protect their species, parasites must constantly leave their host to the external environment and inhabit the body of animals using them as intermediate hosts.Transporters are of great importance in this process: mechanical - these can be insects that carry worms on their legs for long distances.Worms do not live in the body of insects.

A specific carrier or intermediate host - then the parasites go through only one of the development cycles.The mode of transmission of worms when wandering is important:

• contact - penetration through intact skin and mucous membranes (ankylis);
• feeder.

Features of reproduction of worms

For the most part, lower worms are hermaphrodites, but there are also worms with sexual differences - nematodes.If helminths change several hosts during the development cycle (sometimes up to 4), they are called biohelminths.If they live with only one host, they are geohelminths.

Stages of development of worms:

1. Egg stages - the female lays immature eggs, which mature in the external environment and then orally return to humans.
2. The second stage is hatching.This process takes place in the gastrointestinal tract.It migrates throughout the body in search of an ideal habitat.After finding it, he continues to grow into an adult.
3. The third stage is again an egg-laying adult.It should be noted that worms live not in all organisms, but only in those that are suitable for them, that is, for example, the larvae of which the host is an ungulate, if they enter the body of a predator, they will survive, but will not lay eggs there.

Types of helminths

Types of helminths in humans are divided according to their habitat: luminal and tissue.In the first case, parasites live in the lumen of hollow organs, most often in the intestines: ascariasis, trichuria, strongyloidosis, teniarynchiasis, etc.Tissues live in the thickness of various organs and tissues.What organs can worms affect?They can be located and affect the hepatobiliary system, brain, eyes, lymph nodes, lungs, so the diseases can have several names:

• for liver damage - echinococcosis;
• brain damage - cysticercosis;
• lymph nodes - filariasis;
• pulmonary helminthosis - paragonimiasis;
• tissue helminthosis - by the name of worms: trichinosis, schistosomiasis, filariasis, toxocariasis.
• ophthalmic helminth infections - when parasites affect the eyes and more obvious pathological changes are caused by the larvae and developmental stages of worms.

Place of residence

Parasitic worms are found from the Arctic to the Equator, but worms characteristic of the tropics will not be diagnosed in residents of northern latitudes.The degree of infection of the population with helminth infections depends on the country's economic level and climatic conditions.The most common types of worms are pinworms, roundworms and whipworms.The source of infection becomes the organism - the final host.

Ways of infection with worms:

1. The way of feeding is by eating unwashed or fly-infested food, insufficient heat treatment of meat, eating raw fish, drinking unboiled water, swallowing water while bathing in reservoirs, using the same knife for raw and cooked food.
2. Fecal-oral transmission: contaminated household items, unwashed hands after using the toilet, contact with animals.
3. Transmission path.Transmission by insect bites.

Infection from pets

If you come into contact with a dog, you can become infected with tapeworm, exinococcus, roundworm, pig tapeworm.Worm eggs can be found in the fur of dogs, and in addition, these animals have a habit of eating other people's feces while walking.From cats: as in dogs, also cat hair, from chicken - roundworms, from humans - pinworms, dwarf and pork worms, hookworms.

How do worms move through the body?

Parasites sensitize the body with waste products, toxins and enzymes, resulting in:

• allergy and intoxication;
• mechanical damage to mucous membranes with suction cups and hooks;
• large worms can block the intestinal lumen.
• In addition, worms eat a significant part of the incoming BZHU, which causes anemia, lack of vitamins, trace elements, hypoxia, malnutrition;
• digestive disorders are noted, there is a delay in psychophysical development in children.
• With many helminthiasis, chronic microblood loss occurs.
• helminths worsen the course of existing pathologies, suppress the immune system, increase the risk of tuberculosis and cancer, and reduce the effectiveness of vaccines.

Characteristics of the most common worms

What do roundworms look like?When cut, they have a round shape, which is why they got their name.Roundworms have their own characteristics.First of all, this is their extraordinary endurance: they remain alive in formaldehyde for 5 years.In addition, they are distinguished by a simple development cycle, a straight tubular digestive system and rapid reproduction.

Pinworms cause enterobiasis (anthroponotic disease, dirty hands disease).They look like small white worms up to 1 cm (males are only 3 mm), the tip of the body is slightly pointed.They live in the lower part of the small intestine and the beginning of the large intestine.They are link worms.Egg laying takes place in the anus.The development period lasts 2 weeks, they live 1-2 months.It is more common in children.They are attached to the intestinal wall using head vesicles.Female pinworms descend in the anus in the evening and lay eggs there.At the same time, they secrete a special type of liquid that causes itching.The child scratches the bottom and self-infection occurs.Females die after laying eggs.The damage they cause is the release of enzymes that irritate the intestinal walls and contribute to their inflammation.

Roundworms cause ascariasis.These are red-white roundworms up to 50 cm long and 6 cm wide.Males have a curved tip.Roundworms live in the small intestine, but the larvae actively migrate throughout the body, their life cycle is up to a year.Worm larvae live in the lungs.Their waste products cause intoxication and intestinal obstruction.

Parasites are geohelminths, that is, they develop in the soil and reach humans from there.They are distinguished by their high productivity, up to 240,000 eggs per day.Eggs have a very strong three-layer shell and easily fall to the ground.Here, under the influence of oxygen, humidity and a certain temperature, larvae are formed in them.This process can last from 2 weeks to several months depending on the temperature.Such an adult egg with a larva enters the person orally again.The larva appears in the intestines and is carried throughout the body by the bloodstream.Its favorite habitat is the alveoli of the lungs, because there is access to oxygen and the larva is aerobic.Adults are anaerobes.After reaching 3-4 mm in length, after 4-5 days the larva enters the bronchi and causes coughing.When coughed up, it is swallowed and returned to the intestines, where it matures.The life cycle of the parasite is up to one year.

Whipworm causes trichuriasis, belongs to nematodes, has a grayish to red color, reaches 2-5 cm, has a sharp bristle-like head, which is why it got its name.The parasite attaches to the intestinal wall and feeds on the blood and mucosal tissues of the host.It settles in the large intestine and appendix, where the larvae reach sexual maturity and lay 3.5 thousand eggs daily.The life cycle of the parasite is 4-5 years.By damaging the intestinal wall, they contribute to its damage: they cause appendicitis, diarrhea, abdominal pain, anemia.Helminth eggs enter the soil with human feces and can stay there for up to 2 years.

Toxocara is caused by toxocariasis.It is a yellowish worm that looks like a roundworm but is 15-20 cm long.This is a biohelminth;humans are infected by dogs.They live in the form of eggs.Larvae emerge from them in human intestines.They migrate throughout the body, damage internal organs and cause allergies.The severity of the clinic depends on immunity and the number of helminths.Laying eggs per day - up to 250 thousand.Life cycle - up to 10 years.

Trichinella spiralis causes trichinosis, which is considered the most dangerous of helminthiasis, as it often results in death.The length of the nematode is only 5 mm.Infestation occurs when eating poorly cooked pork.In the intestine, trichinella fertilizes, the larvae become pregnant and hatch in the female.At one end, the female attaches to the intestinal wall and throws up to 2,000 live larvae.This process is called ovoviviparity and takes 3-4 days.Larvae are carried by the bloodstream and reside in striated muscles, particularly in the masticatory, eye-movement, respiratory tract, and shoulder flexors.The disease is severe: pains in the abdomen, muscles, head and joints, fever, swelling of the face, intoxication appear 2 weeks after the invasion.In the muscles, after a month, the larvae are encapsulated in the form of a spiral and can remain in a cyst-like state for 20 years without losing viability.After 1.5 months, with proper treatment, recovery occurs.

Hookworm and necator are similar to each other, so their helminths have a common name - hookworm.Their length reaches 1.5 cm and they parasitize the duodenum.Helminths are very common, but rarely detected.Larvae can penetrate the skin on contact with soil.The developmental cycle is very similar to roundworms.The red worm lives in the intestines and feeds only on blood.An individual can receive 0.35 ml of blood per day.Therefore, a characteristic feature is anemia and dysproteinemia.

Flatworms have a flat shape.They have no gender differences;they are hermaphrodites.They are attached to the intestines using hooks and suction cups.

Bull tapeworm is a tapeworm that causes taeniahrynchiasis.It has a small head with 4 suckers and 6 hooks, up to 20 m long, and a ribbon body with 1000 segments.The parasite is a biohelminth, infection occurs through beef, where its larvae are located.Each segment contains hundreds of thousands of eggs.Without treatment, the tapeworm can be parasitic in humans for up to 20 years.Lives in the small intestine, absorbs nutrients on the entire surface of the body.Lives up to 10 years.

Pig tapeworm is a worm that causes taeniasis or cysticercosis.It reaches 3-8 m and has a double ring of hooks.The life cycle is from 20 to 30 years.It can live in any organ and is associated with undercooked pork.The period is similar to the bull tapeworm.These tapeworm segments can emerge from the anus, where they burst on the surface of the skin and release the eggs.Helminths parasitize the intestines, cause allergies and gastrointestinal problems.

Broad tapeworm causes diphyllobothria.The parasite is more than 10 m long, straight and wide.Biohelminths reach humans through freshwater fish or crustaceans.For decades, worms cling to the wall of the small intestine and parasitize.Within 25 days, the parasites grow and reach adults.They feed on blood, causing diarrhea and abdominal pain.

Echinococcus biohelminth is a small tapeworm up to 3-5 mm.The head has 2 hooks and suction crowns;the parasite consists of 4-5 segments.The last is its reproductive system.Organs form cysts up to 10 cm (fins) in which eggs and larvae are located.Cysts destroy the surrounding tissue.They may rupture, followed by toxic shock or multiple new cysts.The ultimate owner is a wolf, the intermediate owner is a human.Infection through food or after contact with domestic animals.In the intestine, the larvae (oncospheres) hatch and are carried throughout the body by the bloodstream.As a rule, they are located in the parenchyma of the liver and lungs, and also live in the intestines.Cysts can only be removed surgically.

A cat trap is a liver, a cat or a Siberian bird.It causes opisthorchosis.It has a lancet shape with a length of 1-2 cm and a width of 2 mm. It has 2 suckers on the head.Humans become infected through infected freshwater fish that eat snails or crustaceans with worm eggs.The main hosts are people.The parasite lives in the lumen of the small intestine and bile ducts.The life cycle is up to 20 years;thousands of individuals parasitize an organism at the same time.The acute stage of the disease is characterized by pain in the upper abdomen, fever, nausea, myalgia, diarrhea, rashes.When the process becomes chronic, the symptoms of hepatocholecystitis are noted and do not go away even after the worms are removed.

Disease course and symptoms

In the acute phase, symptoms may appear at different times depending on the incubation period, but in most cases, they begin after 2-3 weeks.The most common symptoms: allergic rash, lymphadenopathy, development of local or general edema, arthralgia and myalgia.When moving to the lungs, there may be coughing, choking attacks, stool disturbances (diarrhea), nausea and vomiting.

In the chronic stage, the symptoms depend on the organ in which the parasites are located and their number.Key features include:

• frequent itching in the anal region;
• headaches;
• dizziness;
• sleep disorders;
• flatulence;
• rash and itching;
• fatigue with increased appetite;
• joint and muscle pain;
• yellowness of the skin;
• fatigue.
• low-grade fever may occur for a long time;
• discomfort in the navel or right hypochondrium;
• periodic nausea and vomiting;
• bruxism;
• apathy.

The patient's skin is pale, dry, hair, eyebrows, eyelashes fall out, brittle nails, tooth decay, bleeding gums, bad breath are observed.

Diagnostic measures and prevention

To make a diagnosis, a scrap is taken from the rectum and perianal area, and the analysis of feces is also carried out.In this case, the worms are very clearly visible under the microscope.A blood test is performed for eosinophils and protein balance.The content of sputum, stomach and duodenum can be examined.

Regular personal and public hygiene, adequate heat treatment of meat and fish prevent any helminths in humans.Regular veterinary examinations and subsequent treatment of all pets are necessary.