What are the symptoms of helminths?
People with light soil-transmitted helminth infections usually have no symptoms. Heavy infections can cause a range of health problems, including abdominal pain, diarrhea, blood and protein loss, rectal prolapse, and physical and cognitive growth retardation.
What is the most common helminthic infection in the United States?
A group of parasitic worm species, Ascaris lumbricoides (roundworm), Trichuris trichiura (whipworm), and Necator americanus/Ancylostoma duodenale (hookworm), are the 3 most common soil-transmitted helminths in man. Strongyloides stercoralis (strongyloidiasis) and Toxocara spp.
What is Helminthic infection?
Infectious disease. Helminthiasis, also known as worm infection, is any macroparasitic disease of humans and other animals in which a part of the body is infected with parasitic worms, known as helminths. There are numerous species of these parasites, which are broadly classified into tapeworms, flukes, and roundworms.
What characteristics of helminths are used in identifying them from clinical specimens?
There are four major groups of parasitic worms: monogeneans, cestodes (tapeworms), nematodes (roundworms), and trematodes (flukes). Helminths are characterized by the presence of attachment organs which include suckers, hooks, lips, teeth, and dentary plates.
What do helminths look like?
The helminths are invertebrates characterized by elongated, flat or round bodies. In medically oriented schemes the flatworms or platyhelminths (platy from the Greek root meaning “flat”) include flukes and tapeworms.
What damage can helminths cause?
Soil-transmitted helminths impair the nutritional status of the people they infect in multiple ways. The worms feed on host tissues, including blood, which leads to a loss of iron and protein. Hookworms in addition cause chronic intestinal blood loss that can result in anaemia.
What is ascariasis?
What is ascariasis? Ascaris is an intestinal parasite of humans. It is the most common human worm infection. The larvae and adult worms live in the small intestine and can cause intestinal disease.
What are the causes of helminthiasis?
The major risk factors of helminthiasis are rural areas, low socioeconomic status, poor sanitation, poor availability of clean water, poor personal hygiene, lack of nail trimming, crowded living conditions, lack of education, lack of access to health care, and inadequate dwelling conditions.
How are Helminthic diseases usually transmitted?
Transmission. Soil-transmitted helminths are transmitted by eggs that are passed in the faeces of infected people. Adult worms live in the intestine where they produce thousands of eggs each day.
What are the likely effects of helminth diseases especially in children?
Heavier infections can cause a range of symptoms including intestinal manifestations (diarrhoea and abdominal pain), malnutrition, general malaise and weakness, and impaired growth and physical development. Infections of very high intensity can cause intestinal obstruction that should be treated surgically.
What are the initial telltale symptoms of pancreatic cancer?
Belly or back pain. Pain in the abdomen (belly) or back is common in pancreatic cancer. Cancers that start in the body or tail of the pancreas can grow fairly large and start to press on other nearby organs, causing pain.
What are the symptoms of an exocrine pancreatic cancer?
Most of these start to cause problems as they get larger or spread outside the pancreas. Symptoms can be like those from exocrine pancreas cancers, including jaundice (yellowing of the eyes and skin), belly pain, and weight loss.
What are symptoms of deep vein thrombosis in pancreatic cancer?
Swelling, redness, and pain of the leg These are signs of a blood clot in a deep vein of the leg. It’s called deep vein thrombosis (DVT). A clot is sometimes the first sign of pancreatic cancer.
What are the symptoms of pancreatic carcinoid syndrome?
This can cause the carcinoid syndrome, with symptoms including flushing (redness and warmth in the face or neck), diarrhea, wheezing, and a rapid heart rate. These symptoms often occur in episodes, between which the person may feel fine.