Parasites in the human body

5 October 2020

The enemy, as they say, "you must know by sight". You have to understand who we are dealing with. Illiteracy in this area will not give a discount. Let us arm ourselves with information that can be used in practice, for the benefit of our health, which will not give some parasites a chance to ruin our precious life.

Parasites - who are they?

Parasites(from the Greek parasitos - parasite, parasite) - lower plant and animal organisms that live outside or inside another organism (host) and feed on it. Parasites live their parallel lives inside our bodies, feeding on our energy, cells, and food, including the Parasites in the human body health products we consume.

There are parasites which spend their whole life in the body of the host or only part of it; they receive food and shelter from it, without causing any visible damage to the body of their host.

Some parasites irritate the host and affect its functions; others destroy the host's tissues and release specific toxins that cause poor health and the development of various diseases in the host.In the human bodyvarious species can parasitize: fungi, bacteria, viruses, protozoa and worms.

Parasitesduring their life go through a complex development cycle: there are some that need to change several hosts, within which the parasite undergoes intermediate development (thestage of development known as larvaltowards helminths). In the body of the last host, the helminth becomes sexually mature and becomes as dangerous as possible.

Parasites are classified as follows:

mushrooms
virus
simplest parasites
helminths (worms, worms)
crustacean parasites
arachnid parasites
insects (mainly bloodsuckers)

1. Fungi.

These aremicroorganismswhich infect the human body, can be deposited both on the surface of the skin and on the mucous membrane of internal organs. Diseases caused by pathogenic fungi are calledmycoses. There aremycoses of the skin and nails(dermatomycosis), as well as mycoses of the internal organs. Animals are also sensitive to the results of fungal activity - they can become poisoned by the body due to poisoning with toxins from fungi that affect the diet of plants (mycotoxicosis). There are different types of yeast infection, some people only get sick from animals, other types of people get infected from animals. Pathogenic fungi cause fungal diseases considered to be infectious diseases.
There are several hundredtypes of fungi, two of which are particularly dangerous to humans. The first type of fungus -cryptococcus(Cryptococcus neoformans) - causes meningitis (inflammation of the membranes of the brain and spinal cord). Typically, this cryptococcus spreads in bird faeces and is found on fruits, vegetables, animal milk, and soil. The second type of fungus -candida(candida albicans) - causes diaper rash, candidiasis of the mucous membranes, balanitis, thrush, yeast infection, onyxis (nail lesions), sores on the lips, paronychia, footathlete (mycosis of the toes), fungusdiseases of the genitals.Mushrooms love candy, feed mainly on sugar and starch, but like any living organism, they need amino acids, vitamins and minerals.
Fungiis a separate civilization, it is its own parallel world. They can withstand temperatures from -150 to + 150 degrees, they can not be frozen and destroyed. In scientific circles, there is an opinion that mushrooms are the main earthly civilization, and they use everything around them for their own purposes (and us, the people, included). The fungi are white, odorless, cheesy discharge from the nose, mouth, wound, urethra, etc.Fungiis a white coating on the tongue, hair loss and dandruff, atopic dermatitis, psoriasis. If white deposits on the tonsils, it is fungal tonsillitis. Mushrooms don't hurt, they itch. Fungi are anything that peels, exfoliates, falls off, cracks, rises above the skin, stains, covers the scalp. There is no acute stage of fungal diseases, there is only a chronic one.

2. virus.

Virusesare non-cellular living beings, they are microparticles made up of nucleic acids - carriers of genetic information (RNA and / or DNA), on the outside covered witha protein membrane. Viruses are capable of infecting any living organism.Virus, translated from Latin (virus) is poison. Viruses cannot be attributed to animals or plants. They are very small, so they can only be studied under an electron microscope. Viruses can only live and develop in cells of other organisms. Viruses cannot live outside the cells of living organisms, and many of them in the external environment behave like chemicals, appearing in the form of crystals. By settling inside the cells of animals and plants, viruses cause many dangerous diseases. Human viral diseases include: herpes, measles, influenza, HIV, hepatitis, polio, smallpox.

3. The simplest parasites.

Parasitic protozoa-amoeba, lamblia, toxoplasm, cryptosporidium, as well as malaria plasmodia, leishmania, trypanosomes. Among the parasitic protozoa, the agents responsible for the most dangerous diseases of animals and humans are known, especially in the tropics (malaria, dysentery). Plasmodium malaria infects human red blood cells, leading to the stage of mass reproduction with severe fever attacks, resulting in death. Flagellated trypanosomes and leishmania are mainly tropical species which, by feeding on animal tissue, cause ulcers, discomfort and in some cases death. Living in the intestine, the rhizome Entamoeba histolytica is the causative agent of chronic amoebic dysentery, which can enter other tissues and kill the host. The flagellated intestinal parasite Giardia lamblia causes severe diarrhea (giardiasis). This species is found in rivers and lakes polluted with human faeces in the subtropics and the tropics. Some parasites, such as the pneumococcal species Pneumocystis carinii, may be closer to fungi than other protozoa.

4. Helminths (worms, worms)

Over 70 types of worms are recorded, of which the following types of helminths are most common:

roundworms (nematodes)- roundworms, pinworms, whipworms, trichinella, toxocara;
tapeworms (cestodes)- pork and cattle tapeworms, dwarf tapeworm, echinococcus, alveococcus, broad tapeworm;
flatworms (fluke)- opisthorchiasis (feline fluke), liver fluke, Chinese fluke, lung fluke.

Some of these parasitic helminths are ubiquitous, while others are more common in certain areas. For example:

pinworms and roundwormsare found all over the world;
whipworm- found everywhere, mainly in hot and humid regions of tropical, subtropical and temperate climates.
Trichinella- in Belarus, Ukraine.
pork tapeworm- recorded everywhere, more often found in Belarus and Ukraine.
bull tapeworm- can be found everywhere. Especially in Transcaucasia and Central Asia.
dwarf tapeworm- occurs everywhere, especially in areas with dry and hot climates.
large tapeworm- usually chooses habitats in areas with a large number of freshwater bodies. Constantly present in the Baltic States, in Kazakhstan.
opisthorchiasis(cat fluke) - the most intense outbreaks are recorded in Kazakhstan.
liver fluke- ubiquitous. The outbreaks are recorded in Transcaucasia, Central Asia and the Baltic countries.
echinococcosis, alveococcosis- in Moldova, in the south of Ukraine, in the Caucasus.

There are over a hundred and a half varieties of these pests, but the most common are "only" about 35 species. Depending on the location of the parasites in the human body, these diseases are classified as tissue and luminal.

Tissue parasites.

If the parasites and their larvae are found in the tissues of the human body, in the subcutaneous tissue, move freely in the circulatory or lymphatic system, such a disease is called tissue disease (schistosomiasis, echinococcosis).

Translucent parasites.

If the parasites are localized in the intestines or other internal cavities of the human body, then such a disease is called luminal (tapeworms, roundworms).

Parasites are also distinguished by their specific location (habitat) on a person, as a host.

External parasites.

This parasitic species on the skin of the human body directly from the outside, it does not live inside the host, but uses it only when feeding (mosquitoes, fleas, ticks, lice, horseflies, hornets, leeches). . .

Internal parasites (helminths, worms, bacteria, fungi).

This type of parasite has the following classification:

Flatworms (trematodes), in their structure, free living organisms or bilaterally symmetrical parasites. The length of the trematodes varies from 0. 1 mm to several meters, the body structure is mainly flattened, oval or more or less elongated; in parasitic forms, it is equipped with organs for attachment to the “host” in the form of suction cups, proboscis, hooks, etc. The representatives of flatworms are turbellaria or ciliary worms; opisthorchiasis (cat fluke), planaria, liver fluke, clonorchus, fasciole, schistosome, lung fluke.
Roundworms (nematodes), free parasites of this class live in salt water and fresh water bodies, the soil. In most cases, their sizes are small, even microscopic, but among parasitic individuals there are also quite large ones, reaching a length of over seven meters (cetacean helminths). The most common representatives of roundworms of human parasites are roundworms, pinworms, whipworms, filariae, strongyloids, hookworms, trichinella, toxocara, rishta.
Tapeworms (cestodes, tapeworms),This class of helminths is distinguished by a characteristic long ribbon-shaped body (from a few fractions of a millimeter to tens of meters). Cestodes - worms with an elongated, ribbon-like body, consisting of a head, neck and individual segments, are distinguished by enormous fertility (some species are able to produce up to 600 million eggs per year) - tapeworms from pigs and cattle, dwarf tapeworm - detachment cyclophyll; echinococcus, alveococcus, broad tapeworm, sheep brain.
Bacteriosis. Bacteriosis is an infectious disease caused by various types of bacteria and parasites.
Bacteriosis is a fairly common diagnosis around the world. Some bacteriosis are caused by bacteria of one type, others are caused by bacteria of more than one type. Representatives of this class of parasites are - leptospira, staphylococcus, streptococcus, shigella.
Mycoses- diseases caused by parasitic fungi. More than 350 species of pathogenic fungi have been identified; they parasitize humans, domestic and wild animals, birds, insects, amphibians, fish and plants. The best-known pathogens of mycoses are candida, cryptococci, penicilliums.
Protozoa (protozoa) or protozoan parasitesare single-celled organisms that have a heterotrophic type of nutrition, that is, they are not able to produce necessary organic substancesto their vital activity from inorganic organisms. The consequence is their need for organic substances produced by other organisms (amoeba, lamblia, coccidia, trichomonas).

Sad facts about worms and other parasites:

Chronicle, incl. oncological diseasesin 80% of cases are caused by the influence of parasites (worms, fungi, protozoa).
The causative agent of opisthorchiasisbelongs to the first group of carcinogens (causing cancer) - according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).
The number one biological enemy of humans is Trichomonas.Forming colonies on the walls of blood vessels, Trichomonads lead to the development of atherosclerosis with all the consequences.
1989 - property of Trichomonas discovered to transform ordinary cells into malignant cells.
Parasitic diseases in the worldaffect more than 4. 5 billion people, 9 out of 10 cases are worms, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).One in three people in Europe is affected by parasites (including worms)!

The incidence of parasitosis in frequency is comparable to the incidence of influenza.

So there are several ways for parasites to enter the human body:

Food - lack of personal hygiene(through contaminated food, water, dirty hands);
Contact-household - creation of external conditions for the active development of parasites(through household items, infected family members, pets);
Communicable - no precautions(via blood-sucking insects);
Percutaneous, or active - non-observance of safety measures(in which the larva of the parasite penetrates the skin or mucous membranes of the human body when in contact with contaminated soil, duringswimming in open water).