Opisthorchiasis: symptoms and treatment in adults, diagnosis, prevention

In this article, we will tell you about what is opisthorchiasis. Symptoms and treatment in adults of this disease will also be presented below.

General information

What is opisthorchiasis? In humans, this disease is caused by parasitic flatworms that belong to the genus Opisthorchis viverrini and Opisthorchis felineus.

This disease is common in Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and in countries of South and East Asia. Infection of this disease affects not only humans, but also animals.

In what fish can there be flat parasitic worms? According to experts, most often they are contained in the family of carp. Thus, people are infected by taking inadequately thermally treated or raw river fish.

Historical reference

When did a man have parasitic fluke? The worms were first found on April 3, 1891, at a pathoanatomical autopsy performed by Professor KN Vinogradov.

Based on the fact that this parasite is not found in everyone, but only in humans and animals that live near fresh water bodies, experts have suggested that infection with opisthorchiasis occurs in the process of eating fish.

Infection and causative agent

The causative agents of the disease, such as opisthorchiasis, are hepatic trematodes. Worms develop in the body of carp fish and shellfish. As for the ultimate hosts, they are carnivores and humans.

Infection of mollusks occurs during ingestion of eggs from water reservoirs. In the body of the mollusk, the eggs undergo metamorphosis. The cercariae formed as a result of this process leave the living organism, and then they are introduced into the body of fish of the Cyprinidae family. They are located in the subcutaneous tissue and muscles. It is in the fish that parasites become metacercariae. Seven weeks after carp infection, worms are capable of infecting the final host.

In the stomach and in the small intestine, the metacercariae are released from the cysts, and then penetrate through the ducts into the gallbladder and liver passages. After 10-12 days they reach sexual maturity and lay eggs.

In the human body such parasites can live for 15-20 years.

Signs of infection

What signs are characteristic for such a disease as opisthorchiasis? Symptoms and treatment in adults we will consider in this article.

The presence of parasites in the human body can be understood between 5 and 42 days after infection. This disease can occur in medium, mild and severe forms. Its incubation period lasts about 21 days.

So how does the liver show opisthorchiasis? Symptoms of such a disease develop gradually. The patient may complain of severe weakness, malaise and periodic sweating. In the future, the course of the disease is subclinical, that is, its signs are poorly expressed. The patient rises to 38 degrees.

An acute form of the disease can also be observed. At the same time there is a strong fever and an increase in temperature to 39-39.5 degrees. Such signs are supplemented by catarrhal phenomena of the upper respiratory tract, moderate increase in ESR, increased eosinophilia and leukocytosis.

After 2-4 weeks the patient's condition is stabilized. This is due to the fact that the chronic opisthorchiasis.

How does it affect the human body?

Now you know what opisthorchiasis is. Infection with such a parasitic disease occurs as a result of eating fish.

The pathogenesis of this disease is based on the toxic and mechanical effects of worms on the host's body.

Huge damage to the walls of the bile passages is caused by opisthores during fixation and during movement. With the help of their suckers they are drawn into the cavity of the mucosa and, pinching it, contribute to the disturbance of blood circulation, and sometimes the integrity of the tissues.

Large clusters of such parasites and their eggs create an obstacle to the current of bile and secretion of the pancreatic gland. This can cause expansion (cystic) of bile ducts.

Stagnation of bile provoked by worms creates conditions for the development of infection. It should also be noted that metabolic products of parasites often cause sensitization and allergic reactions.

Diagnosis of the disease

The diagnosis of "opisthorchiasis" is based on the clinical picture and epidemiological data. Most often, people living in an endemic area are affected by such diseases, as well as eating insufficiently digested fish.

In view of the fact that the opisthorchias are characterized by signs characteristic of hepatic diseases, the diagnosis can not be made by a doctor only on the basis of a single clinical picture. To confirm the disease, it is necessary to pass a number of tests.

Feces on opisthorchiasis can detect eggs of the parasite in duodenal juice. It should be borne in mind that such larvae appear in it no earlier than four weeks after infection.

The presence of less than 100 eggs per 1 g of stool indicates an easy degree of infection, and over 30,000 - about extremely severe.

As for adult worms, they can be detected by endoscopy. Computer and magnetic resonance imaging, as well as ultrasound, reveal such indirect signs of opisthorchiasis as fibrosis of the bile duct, changes in the structure or enlargement of the liver or gallbladder.

Blood for opisthorchiasis should also be carefully analyzed. Nonspecific symptoms of this disease include eosinophilia, especially at an early stage, an increase in the level of alkaline phosphatase, bilirubin and serum transaminase in conjunction with low serum albumin.

Methods of research

Despite the fact that the gold standard for diagnosing this disease is the detection of eggs, more and more often molecular and immunological methods are used to identify worms in the human body.

Such methods quickly detect parasite antigens in the blood and allow us to judge the stage of the development of the disease.

Opisthorchiasis: Symptoms and Treatment in Adults

Treatment of opisthorchiasis requires an integrated approach. Along with the reception of specific anthelmintic agents, measures should also be taken against the patient, which are aimed at restoring the disturbed work of the digestive tract.

What drugs should include a treatment regimen for opisthorchiasis? Therapy of this disease is carried out with the following medicines: Prazikvantel, Albendazol, Chloksil. They should be taken only as directed by the doctor, after laboratory confirmation of the diagnosis.

In most cases, the treatment of this disease is outpatient. If the patient has a decompensation of the functions of the organs and neuropsychological diseases are observed, then the therapy is carried out in a hospital. The same applies to people with acute stage of opisthorchiasis. By the way, in the latter case, treatment is carried out only after elimination of allergic manifestations and intoxication, as well as relief of fever attacks.

For patients with chronic opisthorchiasis, combined therapy is required, which is aimed at managing acute conditions, as well as achieving remission of concomitant diseases. After this, a specific treatment is carried out.

Forecast

Is it possible to cure opisthorchiasis (symptoms and treatment in adults have been described above)? In most cases doctors managed to overcome parasitic worms.

Cases of death caused by the development of hepatic insufficiency, were recorded very rarely.

It should be especially noted that the prognosis is serious in acute pancreatitis, development of purulent processes in the biliary system and bile peritonitis, and is extremely unfavorable in primary liver cancer.

Those who have had opisthorchiasis need at least six months of follow-up at the dispensary.

Folk treatment of opisthorchiasis

Often people with opisthorchias try to cure it themselves. Doctors treat this extremely negatively. Although the patients themselves argue that such methods work no worse than medical methods.

Consider several folk recipes that help cure opisthorchiasis.

• Birch tar.

Therapy should be carried out according to the scheme: on the first day in the morning on an empty stomach take 1 drop of birch tar, previously dissolving it in a dessert spoon of boiled water. On the second day they use 2 drops, and so on - up to 10 days. After this, the dosage is gradually reduced in the reverse order.

• Lime ash.

Lime branches are burned, and ash is collected in a jar. Next one dessert spoon of ash is brewed in a glass of hot milk and given to the patient before eating. Take this remedy every day for two weeks.

• Carnation and garlic.

Three cloves of garlic are ground and poured a glass of milk. Then the mixture is brought to the boil and added to it 3-4 buds buds. After a lapse of two minutes, the broth is removed, cooled and filtered. It is consumed one glass three times a day 60 minutes before meals for 10 days.

• Celandine.

A glass of fresh and finely chopped leaves of the plant is wrapped in clean gauze and dipped in a large bowl. After that, add to it as much sugar, two tablespoons of sour cream and two liters of whey. The prepared mixture is stored in a warm and dark place for two weeks, periodically mixing. Next, the drug is taken half the glass three times a day.

• Flax seed and cloves.

50 g of food cloves and 500 g of flaxseed are ground in a coffee grinder and mixed. The finished product is consumed with food or in its pure form, washed down with liquid.

• Aspen bark.

10 large spoons of this product are poured with 1 liter of boiling water and boiled for 20 minutes. The broth is filtered and cooled. The treatment is as follows: 1 large spoon of the drug is taken 3 times a day before meals. The course of treatment is three weeks.

Preventive actions

To prevent the development of such a disease, you need to eat only a well-fried and boiled, as well as carefully salted fish. In addition, the product should be decontaminated by deep freezing.

Cooking fish family cyprinids should be portioned chunks. The time of its preparation should not be less than 20 minutes from the boiling point of the broth. Fish dumplings should be cooked longer than 5 minutes.

In the process of frying cutlets from carp or its chunks, care should be taken to ensure that each side of the product is in boiling fat at least ¼ hour.

Small fish can be processed on the plate in its entirety for 15-25 minutes. Pies with this ingredient should be baked for about an hour.

In order to prevent further spread and possible contamination by parasites, it is strictly forbidden to dump fish processing waste into garbage dumps and water bodies, and feed them to animals, including domestic animals, without prior disinfection.

Let's sum up the results

Now you know what constitutes a disease, like opisthorchiasis. We also talked about how to treat it and on what symptoms it can be found in this article. Observing all the prescription requirements for the heat treatment of fish of the Cyprinidae family, you can prevent the parasite from entering your body.