Fasciola Hepatica - Causes Of Infection And Symptoms

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Fasciola Hepatica - Causes Of Infection And Symptoms
Fasciola Hepatica - Causes Of Infection And Symptoms

Video: Fasciola Hepatica - Causes Of Infection And Symptoms

Video: Fasciola Hepatica - Causes Of Infection And Symptoms
Video: Fasciolosis (Liver Fluke Disease) - A Fasciola hepatica and Fasciola gigantica Infection 2024, March
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Fasciola hepatica infection - diagnosis and treatment

Content

  • 1 Description of pathology
  • 2 Epidemiology
  • 3 Reasons for the development of pathology
  • 4 Stages of development of fascioliasis
  • 5 Symptoms and signs of pathology
  • 6 Complications and consequences
  • 7 Diagnosis of pathology
  • 8 Treatment of fascioliasis
  • 9 Follow-up examination after treatment
  • 10 Prognosis of the disease
  • 11 Prevention of fascioliasis

The human intestine is the organ where many types of helminths seek to get. But there are parasites that do not live in the intestines, but in the liver or biliary tract. Such worms include hepatica fasciola, which like to feed on blood and bile, provoking the development of a disease such as fascioliasis.

The consequences of the disease can be very dangerous, so it is necessary to know the signs of the habitation of this type of helminth in the body in order to carry out effective treatment

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Description of pathology

Fascioliasis is a worm disease provoked by the hepatic fluke Fasciola hepatica, which enters the body when a person swallows contaminated water while swimming in open water. This large trematode has a flat rhomboid shape; it enters the human body in the larval stage.

Once in the stomach, the shell of the larva is dissolved by the gastric juice, the helminth penetrates into the blood vessels, from where it enters the biliary tract or liver with the blood flow. In some cases, the parasite can attach with special suckers to the lung tissue or breast. Two months later, an adult fluke up to three centimeters in size grows from the larva, which can reproduce, since it is a hermaphrodite.

A person can feel health problems as early as a month after infection, since the helminth begins to secrete waste products.

Epidemiology

The hepatic fluke is common across the globe. Especially often it infects people living in Australia, South America and European countries, since this is the most suitable climate for their existence.

The source of helminth infection is an infected person or herbivore. The parasite enters the body through the mouth when drinking contaminated water, when eating greens that grow near water bodies, infected beef liver.

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The reasons for the development of pathology

Fascioliasis in humans is provoked by the hepatic fluke helminth. The parasite enters the human body when it is in the larval stage. The larvae are up to one centimeter in size, they affect the liver and bile ducts, and in some cases, other organs can also suffer.

Stages of development of fascioliasis

Human fascioliasis goes through several stages of development:

  1. The incubation period, which begins from the moment the parasite enters the body until the first signs of the disease appear. During this period, the pathology is diagnosed by examining feces or blood, while undergoing an ultrasound scan. This usually happens during a routine preventive examination.
  2. The acute or invasive stage is characterized by the passage of the helminth through the bile ducts.
  3. Latent or latent period, characterized by the absence of symptoms. It can last from two months to several years, pathology is found in most cases during a routine medical examination.
  4. The chronic stage is characterized by the development of complications and negative consequences of the disease. It flows in waves.

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Symptoms and signs of pathology

Fascioliasis has symptoms that are similar to those of any helminthic disease. Pathology begins to manifest itself with an acute stage, which eventually becomes chronic. The disease has no characteristic signs, which complicates the diagnosis in the early stages of the disease, when complications have not yet begun to develop.

Note! In 50% of infected people, the disease does not show any symptoms.

The incubation period for fascioliasis can last from one week to eight months, it all depends on the state of the human immune system. The manifestation of pathology is acute.

A person's body temperature greatly increases, signs of intoxication appear, asthmatic attacks, chills and fever, various allergies, jaundice often develops, abnormalities in the nervous system are observed, pain occurs in the abdomen, the liver increases in size.

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In the acute stage of development, the symptoms of pathology are associated with the development of allergic reactions to the waste products of worms that move through the body

The latent stage is characterized by the appearance of the following symptoms:

  • Pain syndrome in the right hypochondrium;
  • Increase in body temperature to maximum values;
  • Loss of appetite;
  • Diarrhea;
  • Cough accompanied by bloody discharge;
  • Dyspnea;
  • Anemia.

    Anemia
    Anemia
    Loss of appetite
    Loss of appetite
    Cough
    Cough

In the chronic period of fasciola, hepatitis manifests symptoms in the form of the development of pancreatitis, hepatitis, Quincke's edema, gastroduodenitis, liver abscess, cirrhosis or oncology. The gallbladder enlarges, the skin becomes yellow, and blood pressure increases. When bile is infected with secretions of helminths, purulent cholangitis may develop. If a person has such signs of the disease, the prognosis for him will be very poor.

Complications and consequences

In the absence of effective treatment, the causative agent of fascioliasis provokes the appearance of negative consequences and complications of the disease. Complications can manifest themselves in the following:

  1. Damage to internal organs and mammary glands;
  2. Development of chronic cholecystitis;
  3. The formation of portal hypertension, allergic myocarditis;
  4. Development of a stricture of the bile ducts;
  5. Liver damage.

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Diagnosis of pathology

When the first symptoms of fascioliasis appear, it is necessary to consult a therapist or infectious disease specialist. First, the doctor examines the patient's history to identify a possible route of infection with helminths, then conducts an external examination, in which he palpates the walls of the abdominal cavity, the area of the right hypochondrium, examines the skin.

Then the physician prescribes laboratory tests:

  • Analysis of blood, urine and feces;
  • Study of duodenal juice;
  • ALT and AST tests;
  • IFA and RPGA.

    Blood test
    Blood test
    Analysis of urine
    Analysis of urine
    Stool analysis
    Stool analysis

The following techniques are used as instrumental diagnostics:

  1. Ultrasound of the peritoneal organs;
  2. MRI and CT of the liver.

Note! Serological diagnostic methods are informative only in the early stages of the disease, in other cases they can give a false result, so it is important to study the patient's history.

The doctor differentiates fascioliasis from hepatitis, pancreatitis, cholangitis and cholecystitis, as well as clonorchiasis and opisthorchiasis.

Fascioliasis treatment

First, hepatica fasciola treatment involves symptomatic treatment to relieve pain and eliminate the manifestations of signs of pathology. For this, antispasmodics, antihistamines and sorbents are used.

To neutralize the fluke, conservative treatment is most often used, which includes:

  • Taking special medications;
  • Compliance with a diet;
  • Physiotherapy.

    Taking special medications
    Taking special medications
    Diet
    Diet
    Physiotherapy
    Physiotherapy

Note! The use of traditional medicine is possible only after consulting a doctor.

Drug therapy involves the use of antihelminthic and antibacterial drugs, the duration of treatment with which for each patient may be different. Also prescribed are glucocorticosteroids, antipyretic and choleretic drugs, enzymes and sorbents, solutions to prevent dehydration, as well as proton pump blockers and hepatoprotectors.

The patient spends the entire course of therapy in a hospital under the supervision of physicians; clinical examination in this case is not provided.

During the period of treatment, a person should eat right, excluding offal, seafood, flour and confectionery products, salty, spicy and fatty foods, as well as alcohol from their diet. It is recommended to include dairy products, buckwheat and rice, boiled vegetables, baked fruits and green tea in the weekly menu.

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With an advanced disease, a person will have to adhere to a diet throughout his life.

Follow-up examination after treatment

Six months after the start of treatment, it is necessary to undergo a follow-up examination, which includes a threefold analysis of feces for oviduct, as well as duodenal contents. Each analysis is carried out at intervals of seven days, and then repeated every three months throughout the year. This is done to monitor the patient's condition.

Often, ELISA is re-prescribed, which will show a decrease in the level of antibodies to the parasite with successful treatment. If the antibody count remains high, this indicates that the helminth has not died. Since the treatment was ineffective. In this case, a second course of therapy is carried out.

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Disease prognosis

In the presence of a large number of worms in the body, infection and complications, the prognosis may be unfavorable. In severe cases, death occurs. With timely diagnosis and successful therapy, the disease can be cured without endangering human life.

Prevention of fascioliasis

Human immunity is not able to protect the human body from infection. If the fluke enters the body, fascioliasis develops in 99% of cases. There is no vaccine against this disease in modern medicine.

By following simple preventive measures, fluke infection can be avoided. Methods for the prevention of pathology include:

  1. Exclusion of the use of low-quality water, as well as from dubious reservoirs, since the helminth can live in the purest water, but it is impossible to detect it with the naked eye;
  2. Sanitation and personal hygiene should always be observed;
  3. Do not eat plants that grew near water bodies. If plants that have been watered with polluted water from open reservoirs are used for cooking, they must first be boiled or doused with boiling water;
  4. When eating beef liver, it is necessary to cook it correctly using good heat treatment;
  5. It is recommended to keep your home clean;
  6. In the presence of domestic herbivores, measures must be taken to combat the pathogen. If the animal is sick, it must be isolated.

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Note! Fascioliasis can affect herbivores, so the disease poses a danger to farm owners.

  1. It is recommended to graze cows away from recreation areas, regularly changing pastures.
  2. It is regularly necessary to undergo a preventive examination by a gastroenterologist, to carry out the prevention of helminthic diseases.
  3. You need to monitor your health, if any symptoms of pathology occur, it is recommended to contact a medical institution, since a person's life may depend on the timely started treatment.

Note! The cuisine of southern countries, which use a large amount of greens and aquatic plants, poses a danger of infection with helminths, since they often do not undergo heat treatment.

Educational work among the population in epidemic areas is of great importance. If the pathology was detected on time, and the therapy was effective, the person fully recovers. Ignoring the signs of pathology increases the risk of complications that can be fatal.

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