Opisthorchis Felineus (Cat Fluke): Treatment, Life Cycle, Owners, Photo

Page content

• Appearance and structure
• Life cycle of a parasite
• Sources of infection
• Ways of infection with opisthorchiasis
• Pathogenesis of opisthorchiasis
• Symptoms of the presence of Opisthorchis felineus in the body
• Diagnostics and prevention
• Treatment
• You can defeat parasites!

Opisthorchis felineus, or feline fluke, is a parasitic trematode that infects the liver of mammals.

It was first discovered in 1884 by Sebastiano Rivolta from Italy in a cat's liver. In 1891, a Russian parasitologist, Konstantin Nikolayevich Vinogradov, found it in a person, and gave the name "Siberian liver fluke". In the 1930s, helminthologist Hans Vogel in Hamburg published an article describing the life cycle of Opisthorchis felineus.

What to do in such a situation? To get started, we recommend reading this article. This article details the methods of dealing with parasites. We also recommend contacting a specialist. Read the article >>>

Appearance and structure

The adults of Opisthorchis felineus are pale yellow in color, ranging in length from 4 to 13 mm. Like other flukes, Opisthorchis felineus are hermaphrodites.

Below you can see how the parasite looks under microscopes.

In the middle part of the body of Opisthorchis felineus there is a branched uterus, behind it is a rounded ovary, in the back of the body there are two rosette-like testes, which are well stained. Eggs of Opisthorchis felineus are yellowish, 25-30 by 10-15 microns in size, oval, narrowed towards the pole, have a lid at the front end.

Life cycle of a parasite

The life cycle of Opisthorchis felineus begins with the excretion of eggs from an infected person or animal along with feces. Eggs, falling into a favorable environment (warm stagnant water), become prey for freshwater mollusks of the genus Codiella and other members of the bitiniid family. Inside the body of the mollusk, miracidium emerges from the egg.

Miracidia reproduce asexually, ripen to cercariae (through the stages of sporocysts and redia). Cercariae are larval forms that can actively leave the body of the mollusk, swim and remain in the water until new hosts (2 orders of magnitude) are found - freshwater fish. Penetration into the fish body occurs between the scales, where the larva is actively drilled.

It enters the musculature, there it encysts (covered with a thick membrane) and turns into a metacercaria inside the cyst. From the moment of invasion to the full maturation of metacercariae, it takes about 1.5 months. Such larval forms can already infect the final host.

The final host (humans and other piscivores) becomes infected by eating raw, poorly processed, dried, smoked and salted fish. Together with food, metacercariae enter the duodenum, leave the cysts (excyst) and begin their journey to the final destination - the bile ducts and pancreatic ducts.

From the moment before infection to the transformation into a sexually mature individual and the separation of eggs, it takes about a calendar month.

Sources of infection

The main source of invasion is a sick person and animals, with the feces of which the eggs of the pathogens of opisthorchiasis enter the water, where they are swallowed by snails, in which the parasite larvae multiply, ending with the release of cercaria larvae into the water.

Cercariae penetrate into carp fish (carp, crucian carp, asp, ide, dace, roach, bream, tench, chebak).

Ways of infection with opisthorchiasis

Infection of the final hosts (humans and mammals) with opisthorchiasis occurs when raw, slightly salted, dried or insufficiently thermally processed fish containing invasive larvae are eaten.

It is very easy to become infected with opisthorchiasis in an endemic focus. Since the larvae of parasites are directly in the muscles of river fish, then when cutting it (in the case of using a knife, plate, cutting board for other purposes), the cutting equipment becomes dirty and other products are contaminated.

Pathogenesis of opisthorchiasis

The nature and severity of the pathological processes that characterize the course of opisthorchiasis depend on the massiveness and duration of the invasion, the state of the immune system. Depending on these factors, the course of opisthorchiasis can be erased or manifest; light, medium and heavy. In the pathogenesis of opisthorchiasis, the early (acute) and late (chronic) stages are distinguished.

In the acute stage of helminthiasis, toxic-allergic reactions prevail, developing in response to the action of parasite metabolites on the host organism. They are accompanied by an increase in the permeability of the vascular wall, perivascular edema and eosinophilic infiltration of the stroma of various organs, the formation of necrotic foci in the liver parenchyma.

Damage to the epithelium of the bile ducts by flukes causes hyperplasia of the goblet cells, cystic expansion of the small bile ducts. In chronic opisthorchiasis, a sluggish inflammation develops in the walls of the bile ducts, the proliferation of connective tissue is detected, and often there is a blockage of small bile ducts by helminths.

These processes lead to the development of secondary bacterial cholangitis, biliary dyskinesia, the formation of gallstones, in severe cases - to liver cirrhosis and portal hypertension.

Lesions of the pancreas in opisthorchiasis are determined mainly by swelling of the gland and impaired outflow of pancreatic secretions, which is accompanied by racemose tubular dilatation, proliferative canaliculitis and organ fibrosis.

Take the Opisthorchis felineus test

Symptoms Answer Temperature increase Yes Not Skin rash Yes Not Joint and muscle aches Yes Not The appearance of pain in the right hypochondrium Yes Not Heartburn Yes Not Nausea Yes Not Dyspepsia and flatulence Yes Not Weight loss Yes Not Increased irritability Yes Not Decreased appetite Yes Not

Symptoms of the presence of Opisthorchis felineus in the body

The severity of symptoms is individual for each patient. It depends on the factors of influence of Opisthorchis felineus at each stage of their development, the characteristics of the immune responses of an adult patient.

Even those organs that are not affected by opisthorchias are involved in the pathological process, and then eosinophilic pneumonia (this pathology causes the accumulation of leukocytes in the pulmonary alveoli), enterocolitis (inflammation of the small and large intestine), cardiac arrhythmia, etc.

Signs of the presence of Opisthorchis felineus in the body:

• Temperatures up to 39 ° for several weeks.
• Weakness, fatigue, lethargy.
• Allergic reactions on the skin (what a specific rash looks like can be seen in a medical encyclopedia, on specialized forums of doctors on the network).
• Pain in muscles, joints, chest.
• Upset stomach, vomiting.
• Headache.
• Insomnia.

Diagnostics and prevention

Laboratory diagnostics: detection of Opisthorchis felineus eggs in feces or duodenal contents. Eggs are 26-30x10-15 microns in size, yellowish-brown in color, oval, slightly narrowed to one pole, on which there is a lid (Fig. 23).

Immunological methods (determination of antibodies in the blood serum of patients) are effective for detecting the chronic phase of the disease.

Prevention: personal - eating well-cooked, fried or salted fish. Public prevention: compliance with the rules of salting fish, identifying and treating patients, destroying the first intermediate host, protecting water from contamination with animal and human feces, sanitary and educational work.

Treatment

Drug name	How does	How to take
Stage I - preparatory (lasts from 1 to 3 weeks, depending on the general condition of the patient)
Antiallergic drugs (Suprastin, Tavegil and others). Prescribed mainly drugs of short and fast action.	They block the release of mediators of immune inflammation (histamine, bradykinin and others) from mast cells. Blocks H-histamine receptors of tissue cells, so histamine cannot interact with them and cause allergies.	Adults are usually given 1 tablet twice a day with plenty of fluids. For children, the doctor calculates the dosage individually, focusing on the weight of small patients.
Sorbents (Smecta, Polyphepan, Activated carbon and others)	They adsorb toxins on themselves and remove them from the body.	The dosage and frequency of use depend on the drug itself and the severity of the general condition of the patient. It is taken before meals.
Hepatoprotectors (Silymarin, Ursosan, Galstena and others)	Their mechanism of action is varied and complex. But one thing unites them: they protect liver cells from the damaging effects of toxins, poisons, drugs. Some of them have moderate choleretic properties (Ursosan, Galstena, Hepatofalk)	Dosage, frequency, duration, method of administration depends on the drug itself and the severity of the patient's general condition.
Choleretic drugs (Allochol, Holagol and others)	They act in two ways: * increase the production of bile in the liver * increase the tone of the walls of the gallbladder, stimulating the excretion of bile, and at the same time relax the tone of the walls of the biliary tract	Typically taken with or immediately after meals. The dosage, frequency and duration of admission is determined by the doctor.
Digestive enzymes (Mezim forte, Pancreatin, Pangrol and others)	Improves food digestion and general condition of the digestive system.	Prescribed before meals. The dosage, frequency and duration of admission is determined by the doctor.
Broad-spectrum antibacterial drugs are prescribed if necessary if there are bacterial complications	The most commonly used antibiotics from the groups: * Cephalosporins (Cefazolin). They destroy the bacterial cell membrane * Macrolides (Khimomycin). They penetrate into the interior of the bacterial cell, destroying it * Penicillins (Klamox). They destroy the shell of the bacteria, leading to its death.	The dosage and frequency of administration is determined by the doctor.
Anti-inflammatory drugs (Butadion, Ibuprofen)	Block the production of cyclooxygenase, an enzyme that reduces the formation of prostaglandins (block the production of inflammatory mediators and allergic reactions by cells)	It is used after meals. As a rule, one tablet is prescribed twice a day.
Stage II - the appointment of specific drugs that can fight opisthorchiasis
Choleretic drugs (Holosas, Holiver) are prescribed if necessary	Helps remove dead parasites from the body and prevents bile stagnation.	As a rule, they are prescribed after meals. Contraindication - gallstone disease.
Biltricid (Praziquantel) - a specific drug for the treatment of opisthorchiasis	The mechanism of action is not completely clear. It is assumed that it causes increased muscle activity in parasites, which is replaced by contraction of their muscles and spastic paralysis (persistent contraction), leading to death.	The dose is calculated by the doctor: from 70-75 mg per kg. The drug is used once and once a day. With poor tolerance, sometimes a single dose is divided into 2-3 doses. In the first three months of pregnancy and children under 4 years of age, the drug is not prescribed. When using it during breastfeeding, it is recommended to refrain from breastfeeding for 72 hours after taking the drug. Monitoring the effectiveness of treatment - after six months.
Chloxil - anthelmintic drug	Destroys intestinal cells in opisthorchs and suppresses carbohydrate metabolism in them, leading to their death.	Appointed in courses: for two, three or five days. Heading dose - from 15 to 24 grams. It is divided by the corresponding number of treatment days. Chloxil is approved for use in children, but is less effective than Biltricide.
Stage III - restorative, which is aimed at restoring the normal functioning of the gastrointestinal tract and internal organs
Choleretic drugs (Holiver, Holosas)	They enhance the production of bile in the liver and increase the tone of the walls of the gallbladder, relaxing the tone of the biliary tract.	As a rule, it is prescribed after a meal or before it, depending on the drug. Contraindication - gallstone disease.
Hepatoprotectors (Ursosan, Galstena and others)	Protect liver cells from the effects of toxins and drugs, improve their function.	The dosage and duration of treatment is individual, depending on the drug prescribed by the doctor, as well as already developed disorders in the liver.
Enzyme preparations (Creon, Panzinorm, Pancreatin)	Improves digestion and absorption of nutrients, vitamins and minerals in the intestines.	The dosage and duration of treatment is individual. The drugs are taken before meals.
Multivitamins and minerals	They affect all types of metabolism, since they are catalysts (substances that accelerate chemical reactions) of all biochemical processes in the body.	As a rule, complex preparations containing both vitamins and minerals are prescribed. They are taken 1-2 times a day for at least one month.