Opisthorchiasis - what kind of fish? Opisthorchiasis: symptoms in humans, treatment and prevention

What is opisthorchiasis and how dangerous it is, you need to know everyone who loves fish. The cause of infection is a flat worm parasitizing the gallbladder and pancreas, gradually destroying the liver and mucous membranes.

Infection occurs with the consumption of river fish in raw form or fish dishes that have undergone insufficiently good heat treatment. To prevent the penetration of parasites into the body, you need to properly handle products, as well as observe the basic precautions.

In what fish can opisthorchiasis

Glistular invasion can be very dangerous for humans, as they affect internal organs, which leads to dangerous diseases. In what kinds of fish is opisthorchiasis, it is very important to know in order to avoid infection. Often, the carrier of infection are the fish of the carp family, in particular, such as:

• Crucian carp;
• bream;
• roach;
• carp;
• carp;
• tench.

The most important carriers of opisthorchiasis are perch and ide. Red and marine fish can also carry larvae. The parasite is worst of all in the body of predatory fish, but more often this species of helminths is found in pike meat. This is why any kind of fish must be heat treated, since there is a risk of infection with other parasitic diseases.

How does the infection occur?

Knowing in what fish opisthorchiasis occurs most often and how to avoid infection, you can protect yourself from penetration of worms into the body. The parasite lives exclusively in fresh water reservoirs, where there are all the required conditions for it and suitable food. The life cycle of the helminth is divided into several stages.

Initially, the eggs of parasites, along with the feces of humans and animals, enter the sewer system, and then into the sewage. The liquid is then swallowed with parasites by mollusks, in the body of which eggs become larvae. Their development continues for 2 months. Then the larvae go out into the open reservoir with fresh water, where they penetrate the scales, and then into the body of the fish. The final carriers of helminths become infected after consumption of contaminated fish meat.

Many people are interested in what opisthorchiasis looks like in fish and how it can be detected. It is worth noting that in the body of fish the opisthorchas look like larvae, but one month after they enter the human or animal body, they are released from the shell and begin to move along the bile ducts, penetrating the liver, where eggs are laid off after a month. The only way to infect is the consumption of fish infected with helminthic infestations, which is why you need to know which fish do not have opisthorchiasis. These parasites do not settle in the body of marine fish, since they simply do not survive in salt water.

Symptoms of opisthorchiasis

Regardless of what kind of fish opisthorchiasis, the symptoms of infection are the same and for a long time may not be manifested. However, from the moment of activity it is very easy to detect them.

Symptoms of opisthorchiasis in man begin to appear immediately after active reproduction of larvae. After the appearance of the first signs, it is necessary to conduct complex diagnostics and subsequent treatment.

Despite the fact that the symptoms of opisthorchiasis in humans are not dangerous for life, timely treatment will avoid many problems, and the process of therapy is much faster. Signs of the presence of worms in the body can be different, it all depends on the stage of the disease.

Acute stage

What is opisthorchiasis and how it manifests itself, you need to know everyone, so that you can recognize the presence of the disease in a timely manner and conduct complex treatment. In the acute stage of the course of the disease, the following symptoms appear:

• Soreness in the joints and muscles;
• Deterioration of appetite;
• Pain in the right hypochondrium;
• temperature increase;
• allergy.

The clinical picture of the course of the disease in the acute period is typical for a lot of infectious diseases, which is why a complex diagnosis is required to detect worms. The acute stage continues for approximately 10-14 days, and then the main symptoms gradually decrease and the disease passes into a more dangerous, chronic stage.

Chronic course of the disease

If you are interested in the symptoms and treatment of opisthorchiasis, you need to take into account the features of the clinical picture of the chronic type. With this form of helminthic invasion, severe allergy and signs of intoxication are observed in patients. Determine the presence of worms in the body can be on such grounds:

• Defeat of the central nervous system;
• Permanent muscular and joint pain;
• Impaired cardiac muscle nutrition;
• Increased body temperature;
• A sharp decrease in weight;
• Cutaneous allergy.

The signs of the disease in adults and children are almost identical and differ only in their intensity. Since the skin is more tender in children, the allergy is especially pronounced. In the chronic course of the disease, children begin to lag far behind in their physical and mental development, as well as disorders of the nervous system.

In the course of the chronic stage of the disease, signs characteristic of diseases such as pancreatitis, hepatitis, and cholecystitis may appear.

Features of the course of the disease in children

Many people are interested in what kind of fish opisthorchiasis, how the infection occurs and how the disease manifests in the child. In children living in areas where the disease is common, it is usually almost asymptomatic. Often, it can be determined only a few years after infection.

In acute form of infection in a child aged 1-3 years there is a slight increase in temperature, there are pains in the abdomen. There are also inflammatory reactions in the upper respiratory tract, stool and nausea. In some cases, children have an increase in lymph nodes and liver.

Older children have more severe signs of the disease:

• temperature increase;
• skin rash;
• weakness;
• pneumonia;
• Myocardial damage.

With a more severe course of opisthorchiasis, hepatitis with jaundice is added and the spleen is enlarged. In chronic course, the child experiences pain in the right upper quadrant, nausea, worsening of the stool, and a decrease in appetite. There is a slight increase in the liver, and the spleen has normal dimensions.

Diagnostics

You need to know not only what kind of fish opisthorchiasis is, but also how to diagnose the disease. Since the appearance of clinical signs of the disease before the isolation of eggs, parasites, together with the calves, pass up to 6 weeks, the diagnosis of the disease in the early stages is quite difficult.

Initially, an anamnesis is collected, during which it is determined whether the patient lived in places where opisthorchiasis is often diagnosed. Then a general blood test is performed to determine the level of leukocytes and the degree of ESR increase. Biochemical blood analysis in case of infection can show a decrease in protein levels in the blood, a change in hepatic enzymes.

Ultrasonic diagnostics is also performed, thanks to which it is possible to detect diffuse liver pathologies, enlargement of the bile ducts.

Stool analysis is recommended to be performed three times, with the same interval of several days. This is due to the fact that it is not always immediately possible to detect the eggs of the causative agent of the infection. More modern methods of conducting diagnostics is the detection of DNA parasites with the help of a polymer chain reaction. This method is used for children and adults.

Medication

Depending on what the symptoms of opisthorchiasis are, and the treatment is selected appropriate. When the acute form of the disease occurs, it is necessary first to eliminate the signs of intoxication and allergies. After 3 weeks after this, anthelmintic therapy is performed.

With chronic form of the disease, antihelminthic treatment is performed. For this, the drug "Biltricide" is used, which is available in the form of tablets. The dosage is 1 tablet per 10 kg of human body weight. This drug is quite toxic, and when it is used there is a risk of hepatitis and encephalopathy, so it is desirable to conduct treatment in a hospital. The drug paralyzes the nervous system of the worms, but does not kill them, therefore, the gallbladder is stimulated additionally. In this case, cholagogue preparations are used.

It is not always possible to completely remove parasites from the body, which is why it is desirable to have a course of therapy in 3 months.

In chronic course of the disease, anthelmintic chemotherapy is performed, due to which allergic reactions are eliminated. For this, antihistamines are used.

Methods of Traditional Medicine

There are also quite effective methods of folk therapy. In particular, get rid of helminths will help garlic and celandine. For the treatment of children, rectal tampons with garlic juice are used. After that, the course of cholagogue grasses is recommended.

All these activities are aimed at stimulating the gallbladder and normalizing intestinal motility. However, it is worth remembering that carrying out therapy with folk remedies may not be effective enough and dangerous, which is why it is advisable to consult a doctor beforehand.

Diet

When carrying out therapy, compliance with diet No. 5 is shown, as in other intestinal diseases. During the period of medical therapy, as well as during half a year after recovery, medical nutrition is shown, which will promote a speedy recovery.

According to the peculiarity of this diet, patients are recommended to consume steam, boiled and baked dishes, which have undergone very good heat treatment. From your diet, you must definitely exclude the rich dishes, sweet, salty and spicy dishes.

Prevention

To prevent infection, it is necessary to follow the preventive measures of opisthorchiasis. The larvae of the parasite can withstand high and low temperatures, which is why it is difficult to remove helminths from the body.

It is necessary to know at what temperature opisthorchiasis is killed in fish to prevent infection when consumed in food. The parasite is very tenacious, and if it is necessary to eliminate it, then deep freezing is used, and it is necessary that the fish lay in the freezer at a temperature of -12 degrees for at least 3 weeks. If you lower the temperature to -32 degrees, then the larvae will die after 3 days.

You can kill a parasite and with the proper preparation of fish. Fry it for a long time, pre-cut into small pieces. It is best to initially boil it, and then just fry or bake.

In addition to the correct preparation of fish, you must follow the rules of its cutting. This requires a separate board and a knife. This is a very insidious disease, which is why, when the first signs of the disease appear, it is necessary to conduct a comprehensive examination.

What is dangerous opisthorchiasis

The main danger of infection by parasites is that helminths can parasitize in the human body for 20 years, while the patient himself may not even suspect the presence of worms.

If parasites are not found for a long time, then their number will grow all the time, which can lead to death. In addition, they parasitize the body and provoke the occurrence of such diseases:

• cirrhosis of the liver;
• Processes of putrefaction in the liver;
• hepatitis;
• Impaired liver function;
• Malignant neoplasms;
• Inflammatory processes of the stomach and intestines;
• Inflammation of the bladder and pancreas.

Avoid the emergence of complications can be if a timely detection of the parasite in the body and conduct timely medication under the strict supervision of the doctor.