The most common infections are protozoal

The term "protozoal" is formed from the Greek words "protos", that is, "the first", and "zoon", that is, the "animal". This is the name of the kingdom of the simplest living organisms that appeared on our planet among the first. Despite the elementary nature of their structure and vital functions, a large group of these tiny creatures causes deadly protozoal infections in humans and animals. Some people get infected by their own fault, because they do not keep clean. But there are also such protozoa that have learned to penetrate the victim with the help of other animals - mosquitoes, flies, ticks and others, to protect themselves from bites which are not always possible. We offer detailed information about the symptoms of infection, methods of treatment and prevention.

Morphological portrait of protozoa

In total there are hundreds of species of protozoa on Earth. Infections of protozoal causes only those that have adapted to the parasitic way of life. The protozoans live in all parts of the world, and everywhere: in soil, in water, in air, in other living forms. They all consist only of a single cell, in which all the vital elements are concentrated. Most protists can move around, are predators, and multiply not only by simple division, but also through sexual intercourse. Parasitic species in the process of evolution have developed and consolidated various ways of penetrating their prey. So, those of them that parasitize the organs of the digestive tract, use mainly the alimentary pathway. In this case, adult individuals or their cysts leave their host in the environment (with feces, urine, less often saliva), where they live for a certain time, until they enter the new host by contact-oral (through dirty hands and food). Protozoa, parasites in the blood, move from the victim to the victim with the help of bloodsucking insects. There are also parasites who have chosen for themselves the sexual path of penetration into the new host.

Diseases caused by protozoa

Open and studied pathogens of protozoal infections to date cause the following diseases:

- amebiasis;

- malaria;

- Giardiasis;

- toxoplasmosis;

- Leishmaniasis;

- sleeping sickness;

- babesiosis;

- Chagas disease;

- Trichomoniasis;

- balantidiasis;

- sarcocystosis (mainly affects cattle);

Isospore;

- cryptosporidiosis.

Let us consider in more detail the most common of them and begin with intestinal, having a similar etiology and pathology.

Amebiasis

This disease is also called amoebic dysentery. It is caused by some species of amoeba, capable of living only in man. Protozoal infections of this type can only be transmitted from an already infected person. Amoebic dysentery occupies the second position in the list of deadly diseases. Most often it is observed where there is a hot climate and complete unsanitary conditions. Cysts of parasites with feces come out (to the ground, into the water), where they can live for several weeks. In a new victim they penetrate with food, water. To carry the infection on products can flies, cockroaches and other "satellites" of man. Once inside the intestine, the cysts destroy their membranes and enter the intestinal tissue, causing their ulceration and even necrosis. Sometimes with blood they can be carried to other organs, for example, to the liver. At the patient approximately in a week after an infestation there are signs:

- stomach ache;

- temperature;

- weakness;

- diarrhea (sometimes with blood and mucus).

Without proper treatment, the disease can go into a chronic form that leads to perforation of the intestinal walls, peritonitis and other complications.

Diagnosis is performed using a colonoscopy, ultrasound, PCR method. For treatment, use drugs "Metronidazole" or "Tinidazole."

Prophylaxis of protozoal intestinal infections, including amoebic dysentery, mainly consists in maintaining cleanliness and hygiene. You must:

- before use, boil water from open water bodies;

- observe the hygiene of hands and body;

- to wash fruits, berries, vegetables, intended for food;

- to destroy insects - vectors of infection.

Also for the purpose of prevention, a survey of all workers employed in the food industry is conducted, and in the outbreak where the disease is found, complete disinfection is carried out.

Giardiasis

Infections of protozoal, belonging to the class of intestinal, include this disease. Its causative agent are Giardia. Unlike amoebae, they can be transmitted to humans from dogs, cats, rodents, in which they also parasitize. The causes of infection, as in the case of amebiasis, are the lack of sanitation and hygiene. Parasitize Giardia only in the small intestine, and moving into a thick, form cysts, which are excreted outside the feces. In the external environment, they live more than a month. All protozoal intestinal infections have a number of common symptoms - abdominal pain, lethargy, fatigue, diarrhea.

With giardiasis, nausea, allergic dermatitis, biliary tract dysfunction are added to them, and diarrhea can be temporarily replaced by constipation. Blood in the stool, as a rule, not, but mucus may be present.

Diagnosis of Giardiasis is carried out with the help of studies of feces for the presence of cysts in it.

Treatment is carried out in stages:

1. Elimination of toxicosis and restoration of intestinal functions.

2. With the help of preparations "Trichopol", "Tiberal" and the like, parasites are destroyed.

3. Strengthening immunity, diet, taking vitamins and prebiotics.

Prevention of giardiasis consists in the observance of cleanliness, personal hygiene, as well as in the examination of persons, especially children, for the carriage of lamblia.

Cryptosporidiosis

There are not so familiar to a wide range, but also very dangerous infections protozoal. One of them is cryptosporidiosis, caused by protozoa of the family Cryptosporididae and capable of leading to death. Infected with oral-contact route, using untreated water of rivers, ponds, even water pipes, unwashed fruits or vegetables, as well as anal sex. The course of cryptosporidiosis is basically acute, the incubation period lasts up to one and a half weeks, less often up to a month, and the main symptom is severe diarrhea. Also in patients there are:

- nausea before vomiting;

- fever;

- pain in the peritoneum;

- convulsions;

- symptoms of dehydration.

In people with high immunity, the disease can occur without symptoms, but they are carriers of parasites.

Cryptosporidiosis leads to pancreatitis, cholecystitis, cholangitis, affects the lungs, stomach and pancreas. The ideal means, wholly helping with this infection, has not yet been developed.

Prevention consists in sanitizing food, water, pasteurizing milk, and careful personal hygiene.

Infections protozoal intestinal, rare

These include balantidiasis, the culprit of which is the infusoria of Balantidium coli, and isosporosis caused by protozoa of the genus Isospora. Infusoria Balantidium coli live in the gastrointestinal tract of pigs, in which symptoms of the disease may be absent. In the human body, they fall with unprocessed meat or a way that is classical for all intestinal infections. The main symptoms of the acute form of balantidiasis are diarrhea, abdominal pain, temperature, signs of intoxication. When the disease passes into the chronic form, the manifestation of symptoms weakens or they completely disappear, but the person becomes the carrier of the pathogen.

The simplest isospores in nature are very widespread. They enter the human body in nutritional ways. The incubation period stretches for a week and a half, after which the disease begins acutely. The patient has fever, vomiting, diarrhea, severe pain in the abdomen. In HIV-infected isospores can cause death. Treatment is carried out with antimicrobial agents: "Fundysidar", "Metronidazole" and others.

Malaria

There are severe protozoal infections, the treatment of which does not always end successfully. One of such diseases is malaria. Annually, it affects up to 300 million people, about 750 thousand of them die. It is transmitted by malarial mosquitoes when they suck blood. Malaria is observed around the globe, except for regions with a very cold climate, since low temperatures for mosquitoes are fatal. Malarial plasmodia with blood are entered into the liver, where they begin to multiply with fantastic activity by simple division. One parasite can give 40 thousand new living organisms! They call them merozoites. This process passes for the patient without symptoms. About a month and a half later, young merozoites leave the liver and go to the blood. Here they attach to the red blood cells and begin pathogenic activity. In this case, there are observed:

- fever

- intolerable headaches;

- chills;

- vomiting;

- convulsions;

- sometimes loss of consciousness;

- Anemia;

- ischemia;

- release into the urine of hemoglobin.

For decades, malaria has been treated with quinine. Now, new medicines have been developed, such as Artesunat, Amodiachin, Cotripasit, Mefloquine and others. Some of them are used not only for treatment, but also for prevention. Vaccines against malaria, unfortunately, no.

Toxoplasmosis

This is a very dangerous protozoal infection, especially for infants. Call her protozoan Toxoplasma gondii. The source of infection are very many (over 180 species) of domestic and wild animals. According to WHO, toxoplasmosis infected half of humanity. The causes of infection are:

- use of untreated meat, eggs, milk;

- contact with sick domestic pets;

- dirty hands (after working with infected animals);

- intrauterine transmission;

- blood transfusion and / or organ transplant;

- for children, parents are carriers of microorganisms.

Symptoms of the disease can be as follows:

- temperature;

- headache;

- vomiting;

- paralysis;

- lesions of many organs and systems.

Toxoplasmosis proceeds in two forms - acute and chronic and can be both congenital and acquired.

The prognosis for infants is extremely unfavorable, for the salvation of their lives, intensive therapy is carried out. All other treatment is not required, since the acute form of toxoplasmosis passes by itself.

Babesiosis

This protozoal infection affects people and animals. The carrier of the pathogen are mites. Symptoms:

- heat;

- fever;

- enlarged liver and spleen.

In animals, there is a sharp deterioration in the condition, diarrhea, constipation, rapid breathing, bloody urine, the cows become bitter milk, the sheep are discontinued pregnancy. Mortality among animals from babesiosis is up to 80%.

People can develop the disease in mild and severe forms. The treatment is carried out with preparations "Berenil", "Albargin", "Akaprin" and others.

Prevention of protozoal infections, carried by blood-sucking insects, consists mainly in their destruction, as well as in vaccination.

Exotic Diseases

In addition to the widespread, there are protozoal infections, diagnosed only in certain regions. You can get sick by going there on vacation or at work. For example, in the countries of tropical Africa, so-called sleeping sickness is common , which is awarded to people by the tsetse fly. After her bite, the first symptoms appear in 1-3 weeks. It can be headaches and joint pains, fever, itching. After a couple of months, a person has numbness, confusion, loss of orientation in the movements. Treatment of sleeping sickness is only medicamentous.

In Latin America, there is another problem, called Chagas disease. They bring her people kiss bugs, which are carriers of the simplest microorganisms of the species Trypanosoma cruzi. Symptomatology of the disease is wide, since inflammatory processes occur in many organs: in the heart, liver, muscles, brain and spinal cord, with degenerative changes of organs in this case irreversible. The disease occurs in two stages. The first is characterized by pain in the abdomen, chest, muscles of the whole body, heart failure, fever, shortness of breath. The second for the majority of infected people passes without symptoms, only some have symptoms of damage to the nervous, digestive and cardiovascular systems.

Prophylaxis of protozoal and viral infections

Infection with protozoa is similar in many ways to infection with viruses. So, almost all kinds of fevers (dengue, yellow, West Nile, Karelian) cause various viruses, but they are transferred from a healthy to sick mosquitoes. Another common carrier of protozoa and viruses is a tick, the bites of which can cause encephalitis. Well, the rotavirus known to many of us falls into the body of the victim, if hygiene rules are not observed.

Since the ways of infection by the simplest parasites and viruses differ little, the prevention of protozoal and viral infections should be much the same. Ogulov AT in co-authorship with Eshtokina GM and Abdusalamova F. M. published a book in which many infectious, fungal, helminthic diseases are described. It also tells you how to treat them and how to protect yourself from them. The main thing that must always be respected for everyone is sanitation and hygiene. These postulates become a barrier to so many human parasites. Preventive measures against infections carried by insects are their destruction and the elimination of habitats. Well, vaccination is the best prevention of infections against which the body produces immunity.