Parasites in the human body

The enemy, as they say, "must know by sight. " You must understand who we are facing. Illiteracy in this regard will not give any discount. Let us arm ourselves with information that can be used in practice for the benefit of our health, which will not leave the slightest chance for some parasites to spoil our precious lives.

Parasites - who are they?

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

There are parasites that spend their entire lives on the body or only part of the host; they take food and shelter from the host without causing any visible damage to his body.

Some parasites irritate the host and affect their functions; others destroy the tissues of the host and release specific toxins that cause deterioration of health and the development of various diseases in the home.The human bodycan be parasitized by various species: fungi, bacteria, viruses, protozoa and worms.

Parasitesgo through a complex developmental cycle throughout their lives: several mothers, in which the parasite undergoes intermediate development (trembling stagehelminth worms). In the body of the final owner, the helminth matures sexually and is as dangerous as possible.

Parasites are classified as follows:

  • mushrooms
  • viruses
  • the simplest parasites
  • helminths (worms, worms)
  • crustacean parasites
  • arachnid parasites
  • insects (mostly blood-sucking)

1. Fungi.

These aremicroorganismsthat infect the human body and can be found both on the surface of the skin and in the mucous membranes of internal organs. Diseases caused by pathogenic fungi are calledmycoses. There aremycoses of the skin and nails(dermatomycosis), as well as mycoses of internal organs. Animals are also sensitive to the effects of fungal activity - they can cause intoxication of the body due to poisoning by fungal toxins that affect plant food (mycotoxicosis). There are different types of mycoses, some are just sick or just animals, other people are infected from animals. The fungi that cause the disease cause fungal diseases that are considered contagious.
There are several hundredmushroom species, two of which are especially 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 is spread in the feces of birds and occurs in fruits, vegetables, animal milk and soil. The second type of fungus -candida(candida albicans) - causes diaper rash, candidiasis of the mucous membrane, balanitis, angina, mycoses, onyx (nail damage), sores on the lips, paronychia, athlete's foot (athlete's foot)causes. diseases of the genital organs.Mushrooms love sweets, they feed mainly on sugar and starch, but like any living organism, they need amino acids, vitamins and minerals.
Mushroomsis ​​a separate culture, its own parallel world. They can withstand temperatures between -150 and +150 degrees, and cannot be frozen or destroyed. There is an opinion in scientific circles that the main secular civilization is mushrooms and that they use everything around them for their own purposes (and so do we and humans). Fungi are white, odorless, from the nose, mouth, wounds, urinary tract, etc.FungiWhite coating on the tongue, baldness and dandruff, atopic dermatitis, psoriasis. If there are white deposits on the tonsils, this fungus is a sore throat. Mushrooms do not hurt, itch. Fungi peel, peel, fall off, crack, rise on the skin, stain, cover the scalp. There is no acute stage of fungal diseases, only a chronic stage.

2. Viruses.

Virusesare cell-free organisms, microparticles made up of nucleic acids that carry genetic information (RNA and / or DNA) and are covered with a protein membrane on the outside. Viruses can infect any living organism.Virus, translated from Latin (virus) is a 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 the cells of other organisms. Viruses cannot live outside the cells of living organisms, and act as chemicals, presenting many of them in the external environment in the form of crystals. Viruses settle in animal and plant cells and cause many dangerous diseases. Human viral diseases include:herpes, measles, influenza, HIV, hepatitis, polio, smallpox.

3. The simplest parasites.

Parasitic protozoa-amoeba, lamblia, toxoplasma, cryptosporidium, as well as malaria plasmodia, leishmaniasis, trypanosomes. Among the parasitic protozoa, especially in the tropics (Malaria, Dysentery) are known to cause the most dangerous diseases of animals and humans. Plasmodium malaria infects human red blood cells and leads to deadly severe fire attacks during the mass reproduction phase. Flagged trypanosomes and Leishmaniasis are tropical species that feed mainly on animal tissues, causing ulcers, weakness, and in some cases death. Entamoeba histolytica, which lives in the gut, is a causative agent of chronic amoebic dysentery that can penetrate other tissues and kill the host. Flagged intestinal parasite Giardia lamblia causes severe diarrhea (giardiasis). This species is found in rivers and lakes contaminated with human feces in subtropical and tropical regions. Some parasites, such as Pneumocystis carinii, which cause pneumonia, are closer to fungi than the rest of the protozoa.

4. Helminths (worms, worms)

More than 70 species of worms have been reported, of which the following helminth species are the most common:

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

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

  • pinworms and roundwormsare found all over the world;
  • whip- found everywhere, mainly in hot and humid regions of tropical, subtropical and temperate climates.
  • Trichinella- in Belarus, Ukraine.
  • swine tapeworm- recorded everywhere, mostly in Belarus and Ukraine.
  • bull tapeworm- is everywhere. Especially in the Caucasus and Central Asia.
  • dwarf tapeworm- everywhere, especially in areas with dry and hot climates.
  • wide ribbon- usually chooses habitats in areas with numerous freshwater basins. He is always in the Baltic, Kazakhstan.
  • opisthorchiasis(cat fluke) - the most intense foci are observed in Kazakhstan.
  • liver fluke- ubiquitous. The diseases have been reported in the Caucasus, Central Asia and the Baltic regions.
  • echinococcosis, alveococcosis- in Moldova, southern Ukraine, Caucasus.

There are more than one hundred and a half species of these parasites, 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 parasites and their larvae are present in the tissues of the human body, subcutaneous tissue, move freely through the bloodstream or lymphatic system, such a disease is called tissue disease (schistosomiasis, echinococcosis).

Transparent parasites.

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

Parasites are also distinguished by their special location (habitat) in a person, such as hosts.

External parasites.

This species parasitizes directly on the skin of the human body, does not live inside the host, but uses it to feed (mosquitoes, fleas, ticks, lice, horse chest, hornet, leech). . .

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

This type of parasite has the following classification:

  • Flatworms (trematodes), bilateral symmetrical free or parasitic organisms in their structure. Trematodes range in length from 0. 1 mm to several meters, and the body structure is more flat, oval, or more or less elongated; in parasitic forms, pacifiers, proboscis, hooks, etc. equipped with "homeowner" attachment bodies in the form. Representatives of flatworms are turbellaria or ciliary worms; opisthorchiasis (cat wings), planaria, hepatic cirrhosis, clonorhus, fasiola, schistosome, pulmonary fluke.
  • Roundworms (nematodes), free-living parasites of this class live in salt and freshwater bodies, in the soil. In most cases, their size is small, even microscopic, but among the parasitic individuals there are also very large cetacean helminths, which are more than seven meters long. The most common representatives of roundworms of human parasites are roundworms, pinworms, whipworms, filaria, strongyloids, ankilworms, trichinella, toxocara, ringworm.
  • Tapeworms (cestodes, tapeworms),This class of helminths differs from the body (from a few millimeters to tens of meters) as a characteristic long ribbon. Cestodes - tapeworm-like worms with an elongated body consisting of a head, neck and separate segments, very productive (some species can produce 600 million eggs per year) - pork and cattle tapeworm, dwarf tapeworm - a group of cyclophilid; echinococci, alveococci, tapeworm, sheep brain.
  • Bacteriosis. Bacteriosis is an infectious disease caused by various types of bacteria and parasites. Bacteriosis is a fairly common diagnosis worldwide. Some bacterioses are caused by one type of bacteria, others by several types of bacteria. Representatives of this class of parasites - leptospira, staphylococcus, streptococcus, shigella.
  • Mycoses- diseases caused by parasitic fungi. More than 350 species of pathogenic fungi parasitize humans, domestic and wild animals, birds, insects, amphibians, fish and plants. The most common pathogens of mycoses are candidiasis, cryptococcus, penicillium.
  • Protozoa or protozoa parasitesare single-celled organisms that are a heterotrophic type of food, that is, they cannot produce the organic substances necessary for their vital functions from inorganic ones. The result is a need for organic matter produced by other organisms (amoeba, lamblia, coccidia, Trichomonas).

Sad facts about worms and other parasites:

  • Chronic, incl. Oncological diseases80% of cases are caused by parasites (worms, fungi, protozoa).
  • The causative agent of opisthorchiasisbelongs to the first group of cancers (causes cancer) - according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).
  • The number one biological enemy for humans is Trichomonas.Trichomonas, which forms colonies in the walls of blood vessels, causes atherosclerosis with all its consequences.
  • 1989 - The Trichomonas property is discovered to turn ordinary cells into malignant cells.
  • Parasitic diseases in the worldAccording to the World Health Organization (WHO), it affects more than 4. 5 billion people, 9 out of 10 cases are worms.Every third inhabitant of Europe is affected by parasites (including worms)!

Cases of influenza with parasitosis are often compared.

Thus, there are several ways in which parasites enter the human body:

  • Alimentary - lack of personal hygiene(through contaminated food, water, dirty hands);
  • Contact house - creating external conditions for the active development of parasites(household items, infected family members, pets);
  • transmitted - no action(through blood-sucking insects);
  • Percutaneous or active - non-compliance with safety precautions(when a parasitic larva comes in contact with contaminated soil, penetrates the skin or mucous membranes of the human body while bathing in open water).