- Toxocarosis - causes
- Toxocarosis - how can you get infected?
- Toxocarosis - symptoms
- Toxocarosis - diagnosis
- Toxocarosis - treatment
- Toxocarosis - how to prevent infection?
Toxocarosis is one of the most dangerous parasitic zoonoses. The disease-causing larvae locate not only in the digestive tract, but also in various organs, such as the eye or the brain, and damage them. What are the causes and symptoms of toxocariasis? What is the treatment?
Toxocarosisis one of the most commonly diagnosed zoonotic parasitic diseases, caused by the larvae of intestinal nematodes of the genusToxocara.After entering of the human body, they do not end their development in the digestive tract, such as tapeworms, but travel throughout the body and penetrate into various internal organs and tissues, damaging them.
Toxocarosis - causes
The cause of the disease is the larvae of intestinal nematodes - dog roundworm ( Toxocara canis ) or cat roundworm ( Toxocara cati ). Female parasites, which live in the digestive tracts of cats and dogs, lay up to 200,000 eggs a day, which enter the environment along with the dog's or cat's feces, and then mature into a form that contains a larva inside (it is called an egg). invasive). Suitable conditions for their development are moist soil and temperature reaching 10-35 degrees. The egg becomes infectious after 6 - 15 days.
Toxocarosis - how can you get infected?
Parasites enter the human body through the alimentary tract. Therefore, infestation can occur through the consumption of contaminated food or water (e.g. fruit or vegetables contaminated with roundworm eggs).
Eggs in the soil may retain the ability to become infected for several years because they are resistant to adverse environmental conditions.
It is also possible to transfer eggs directly to the mouth with dirty hands - this is especially true for children who play in the sandbox, playgrounds, recreational areas, lawns, squares and yards. Infection can also occur while playing with your pet. Parasite eggs are small and sticky, so they easily stick to the animal's fur.
ImportantAccording to the data of the State Sanitary Inspection, in Poland the degree of soil contamination with the eggs of these parasites is high. In Kraków, the presence of eggs was found in 28-61.9%. tested soil samples taken from yards and squares ilawns. In turn, in Warsaw in 11.8-26.1 percent. of tested soil samples, and in Bytom in 12.7-17.9%, and in Poznań in 8-27%.
Studies of sandboxes, which may pose the greatest threat of invasion to young children, showed significant contamination of these places (10% in Warsaw).
Toxocarosis - symptoms
After the eggs reach the digestive tract, they hatch larvae, which initially attach to the walls of the small intestine, and then travel with the blood to the liver. Most of them remain in this organ. However, some larvae leave the liver and travel further - to the lungs, from where only a few go with the blood to the so-called end organs - the central nervous system (brain, spinal cord or cerebellum), the fundus of the eye, the heart muscle or the skeletal muscle. Therefore, disease symptoms depend on the location of the larvae in the body, as well as the intensity of the invasion and the response of the infected person's immune system.
- latent toxocarosis- causes a set of non-specific symptoms, such as: decreased appetite, general weakness, insomnia, abdominal and headaches, nausea, cough, sometimes liver enlargement, non-specific skin rashes , emotional hyperactivity;
Despite the host's defense mechanisms, parasites can survive in the human body, i.e. retain the ability to travel further, even for 10 years!
- generalized toxocarosis( wandering visceral larvae syndrome ) - general weakness and malaise, fever, liver enlargement, cough and seizure-like dyspnoea bronchial asthma, joint and muscle pain, seizures, hives rash, swollen glands in various parts of the body (rare). Occasionally there are cases of inflammation of the heart muscle, brain and joints. This form has a turbulent course and is probably the result of an infection with a large dose of invasive eggs;
- ocular toxocarosis(ocular wandering larvae) - symptoms appear from the affected eyeball, caused by the formation of a nodular lesion, i.e. a granuloma, around the larva at the bottom of the eye - the so-called leukocoria, which is a symptom of the white pupil. There are also visual disturbances resulting from retinal detachment as well as exudative and inflammatory changes within the retina, choroid and the optic nerve itself. General symptoms such as malaise and general weakness, fever, cough, abdominal pain are rare;
- CNS toxocarosis( neurotoxocarosis ) - the symptoms of meningitis are dominantspinal. Disturbances in consciousness, seizures, disturbances in gait, sensation and muscle weakness are rarely observed;
Visceral toxocarosis most often develops in children (up to 1 to 7 years of age). The ocular form usually affects older children and adults. A rare form is neurotoxicarosis.
Toxocarosis has a different course, often first diagnosed as bronchial asthma or allergy (due to an allergic rash).
Failure to undergo treatment or delayed medical intervention may lead to irreversible damage to the tissues in which the larvae have been invaded.
Toxocarosis - diagnosis
In order to diagnose the disease, blood tests are performed. In the case of toxocarosis, the concentration of IgG, IgM and IgE immunoglobulins increases (they are looked for in the blood serum and / or in the cerebrospinal fluid, and even in the fluid from the anterior chamber of the eye - if necessary), eosinophils (eosinophils) ) and white blood cells (12.0-80.0 x 109 / l).
The test to confirm the diagnosis is a serological test for infectionToxocara catiusing the enzyme immunoassay ELISA.
Toxocarosis - treatment
The patient is given anti-parasitic drugs such as diethylcarbamazine, fluoromebendazole, thiabendazole, mebendazole, levamisole or albendazole. The duration of the treatment varies from 7 to 28 days.
Treatment of toxocariasis is very difficult, sometimes the treatment needs to be repeated because the antiparasitic drugs used hardly penetrate into the encysted larvae.
ImportantToxocarosis - how to prevent infection?
1. It is very important to deworm dogs and cats - at least 4 times a year; 2. Children must not come into contact with unknown animals; 3. Sandboxes (tarpaulins) and children's playgrounds (fences) should be secured against contact with animals; 4. Clean up animal excrements; 5. It is necessary to periodically replace sand in sandboxes; 6. It is crucial to wash your hands before eating, after playing in the playground or in the sandbox, gardening, and most of all, after contact with animals, 7. For safety, it is better to use rubber gloves when carrying out work in the ground; 8. Remember to cut children's nails; 9. Remember to wash vegetables and fruits under running water before eating them; 10 It is better not to feed children in playgrounds and in sandboxes;
source: State Sanitary Inspection