PCR For Parasites: How And Where To Give Up, Decoding Of The Results

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• PCR - diagnostics
• Indications for analysis
• Complications of parasitic diseases
• Decoding a blood test for parasites
• You can defeat parasites!

Laboratory methods for the diagnosis of helminthiasis today are the main methods of diagnosis and selection of effective treatment. Some types of parasites have peculiarities of the life cycle, which is why scatological studies used to detect most helminthiases are ineffective. What blood test for parasites is better to take, and what helminths are detected in a similar way?

• PCR for parasites
• Serological tests
• Hemoscanning method
• Complete blood count for helminthiasis

Modern medical laboratories have three methods for examining blood for parasites:

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 >>>

• PCR - diagnostics.
• Serological studies, including RIF, RNGA, ELISA, RSK.
• Hemoscanning.

PCR - diagnostics

The PCR method (also called the polymerase chain reaction method) is one of the most accurate and informative methods for studying infectious diseases. The material can be various biological fluids of the human body: blood, saliva, urine, cerebrospinal fluid.

Identification of DNA and RNA molecules of the pathogen.

The method is based on the identification of DNA and RNA molecules of the pathogen, which shows with 100% accuracy which helminths are present in the human body. For examination, you only need to donate blood from a vein. The resulting material is processed in a special way, a DNA fragment is isolated from it, which subsequently increases many times in size, thereby making it possible to identify the pathogen.

With the help of the PCR method, helminthiasis can be determined at an early stage, when other diagnostic methods are not yet informative. The results of a blood test for parasites are ready in a day, which allows you to start treatment as soon as possible.

Helminthiases detected by PCR diagnostics:

• Opisthorchiasis.
• Ascaris invasion.
• Diphyllobothriasis.
• Enterobiasis.
• Cryptosporidiosis.

Indications for analysis

A blood test for helminths, first of all, is prescribed according to the patient's symptomatic complaints:

• intense bowel movements (diarrhea);
• reflex release of stomach contents (vomiting);
• weight loss without changing the diet;
• painful digestion (dyspepsia);
• subfebrile (37–38 ° C) and febrile (38–39 ° C) body temperature;
• flatulence and belching;
• pain in the abdominal area;
• polyphagia (increased appetite);
• allergic skin manifestations;
• hypoactivity against the background of an unstable psychoemotional state.

The study is included in the list of analyzes, the results of which must be presented when the child enters school and preschool educational institution. An analysis for worms must be passed:

• medical staff;
• kindergarten teachers and nannies;
• employees of trade and public catering enterprises;
• livestock breeders.

Checking for helminthiasis is carried out in children with epidemic outbreaks of parasitosis in kindergartens, educational institutions.

The doctor may prescribe a study for possible infection with parasites based on the results of a general clinical analysis (OCA) of blood, in which the indicators of eosinophils and leukocytes significantly exceed the established norms.

Helminthiasis is more often recorded in children than in adults, therefore, for prophylactic purposes, it is recommended to examine the blood for the presence of parasites in a child after a summer vacation.

Complications of parasitic diseases

During the life or death of the parasite, toxic substances are released into the host organism. They can cause weakness, constant fatigue, dizziness, headache, nausea, decreased appetite. In addition, these substances provoke sensitization of the body, which causes allergies - rashes, dermatitis, bronchitis.

Many parasites choose the human gastrointestinal tract for habitation. When strengthened in the intestines, as well as nutrition, the parasites damage and destroy mucosal cells and blood cells. Extensive damage to the mucous membrane can manifest itself as pain, nausea, and digestive and nutrient problems.

A large number of parasites (for example, ascaris), entwining into a ball, can cause intestinal blockage and acute intestinal obstruction. The risk of this complication is especially high in young children, because they already have an intestinal lumen.

The parasite is so called because the interests of the host organism are not too concerned with. It takes all the necessary elements from food, depriving the host of many necessary nutrients - minerals and vitamins. Therefore, one of the consequences of parasitic diseases is hypovitaminosis and avitaminosis, which can manifest itself as a decrease in immunity, deterioration of the condition of the skin, nails, hair, etc. A significant loss of blood cells (due to the parasite feeding on them) and their insufficient formation (due to hypovitaminosis) leads to anemia.

A parasite like Trichinella lives in and feeds on muscles, causing severe muscle pain. Parasites that live or multiply in the bile ducts (for example, opisthorchias) can provoke a blockage of the bile ducts, which is manifested by jaundice of the skin and sclera, itching.

Parasites are a source of regular chronic damage to cells, which provokes their malignant changes and the development of cancer.

Another danger of parasites is that an infected person becomes, in most cases, the cause of infection of other people. As a result, all family members can get sick if one of them has the parasite.

Some parasites have a very complex life cycle to improve their survival, during which they change several hosts and exist in each in the form of different life forms.

For echinococcus, for example, a person is a dead end of the life cycle and, getting into his body, the parasite forms cysts and capsules in various organs (brain, liver, lungs).

The appearance of cysts in the brain can lead to the development of epilepsy and other neurological disorders. In addition, cysts are a source of abscess formation in internal organs.

To protect yourself and your loved ones from parasites, it is necessary to timely identify and treat parasitic diseases. A comprehensive examination for helminthiasis helps in this.

Decoding a blood test for parasites

Only a qualified doctor deciphers a blood test for parasites, you should not do this yourself. In the form received from the laboratory, the specialist determines the presence of antibodies and antigens to pests and the stage of the disease. Antibodies are recognized two weeks after infection, antigens - immediately. Tests for parasites in adults include the following indications:

• IgG - show antibodies, indicate the presence of lamblia or worms in the body;
• IgA - show a signal of giardiasis, helminthic invasion in an acute form;
• IgM - antibodies to lamblia, show invasion, from the beginning of which two weeks have passed;
• the simultaneous content of IgG and IgM indicates a chronic state of the disease.