Trichinellosis

Trichinosis is an infectious disease of humans and animals caused by parasites of the genus Trihionella. Named after Trihinella spiralis, the causative agent of trichinosis in humans. The carriers of the parasite are mouse-like rodents - wild and domestic pigs, hares, carnivorous mammals, as well as carnivores, predators and poultry.

Trichinella are round nematodes, whitish-gray in color, ranging in size from 2 mm to 8.5 cm long (in foxes and dogs the length is 13-20 mm). There is a proboscis on the head. In the lateral fields there are 2 muscle suckers and one biramous and flat horseshoe-shaped block-shaped sucker. The genital openings of females are separate. The male has one testis, a long penis and a small appendage (corpus spongiosum) with which he often drills into the intestinal wall after sexual intercourse. The male has 6 scolex (paired) and 4 pharynxes. Females have 4 paired uteri with convoluted seminiferous tubules in the area of ​​their expansion, where fertilized eggs develop. The ovary contains about 3 thousand eggs, as a result of which the female produces up to 220 million eggs per year. Stages of the life cycle of nematodes: egg, larva - trophozoite with 4 scolex, L4 - without scolex, but with transparent cuticular membranes, migrating nematodes - completely transparent. Under unfavorable conditions, a cuticle falls out on the body of parasites, protecting them from the effects of environmental factors and facilitating penetration into the tissues of animals and humans. A person becomes infected by consuming poorly cooked or fried meat containing live and larval forms of the parasite, muscle tissue containing adult Trichinella (lard, sausages, ham, semi-finished meat products, sausages, lard). The risk of infection also depends on the frequency of consumption of food rich in natrichinella forms and on the infested layer of meat during cooking. The parasite encapsulates quite quickly, which makes it difficult to detect by ELISA. The peripheral localization of parasites is less noticeable: adult individuals are often located under the parietal and visceral layers of the diaphragm, gastric wall, pericardium, spleen, and less often in the muscles of the eyes and pharynx - these are places associated with the reproduction of the parasite. At later stages of invasion, Trichinella enters the muscles, the largest migrations occur if the patient is infected by a female, they are located around the muscle fibers. Infection is more likely to occur during the day than at night. Lethal outcome is possible when parasites are localized in the central nervous system, myocardium, lungs or vital organs. The disease begins acutely, on the third to sixth day after invasion, is accompanied by a short-term increase in temperature, poor health, adynamia, dyspeptic symptoms, pain in the head and abdomen, and in children - nausea, vomiting and attacks of dizziness.