The enemy, as they say, "you must know it by sight. "You need to find out who we are dealing with. Illiteracy on this issue will not give any concessions. Let's 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 life.
Parasites - who are they?
Parasites(from 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 in our body, feeding on our energy, cells and food, including the healthy products
we consume.
Some parasites irritate the host and affect its functions; others destroy the tissues of the host and release specific toxins that cause poor health and the development of various diseases in the host.Different species can parasitize the human body: fungi, bacteria, viruses, protozoa and worms.
Parasitesgo through a complex developmental cycle throughout their lives: there are those that need to change several hosts, within which the parasite undergoes intermediate development (the so-called larval stage of developmentworm worms). In the body of the last host, the helminth becomes sexually mature and becomes as dangerous as possible.
Parasites are classified as follows:
- fungus
- viruses
- protozoan parasites
- helminths (worms, worms)
- crustacean parasites
- spider parasites
- insects (mainly blood-sucking)
1. Mushrooms.
These aremicroorganismsthat infect the human body, can settle both on the surface of the skin and on the mucous membrane of the 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 susceptible to the results of fungal activity - they can get intoxicated by the body due to poisoning with fungal toxins that affect plant feed (mycotoxicosis). There are different types of mycoses, some people get sick only or only animals, other types of people get infected from animals. Disease-causing fungi cause fungal diseases that are considered infectious diseases.
There are several hundredspecies 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). This cryptococcus usually spreads in the feces of birds 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, mycoses, onyx (nail damage), sores on the lips, paronychia, mycoses of the feeton the fingers), fungal diseases of the genitals.Mushrooms love sweets, they eat mostly sugar and starch, but like any living organism, they need amino acids, vitamins and minerals.
Mushroomsis a separate civilization, it is its own parallel world. They can withstand temperatures from -150 to + 150 degrees, nor can they be frozen or destroyed. There is an opinion in scientific circles that mushrooms are the main earthly civilization and they use everything around them for their own purposes (and we, the people, including). The mushrooms are white, odorless, cheese, discharge from the nose, mouth, wound, urethra and more.Fungusis a white coating on the tongue, baldness and dandruff, atopic dermatitis, psoriasis. If white deposits on the tonsils, it is fungal angina. Mushrooms do not hurt, itch. Mushrooms are everything that peels off, exfoliates, falls, cracks, rises above the skin, stains, covers the scalp. There is no acute stage of fungal diseases, there is only chronic.
2. Viruses.
Virusesare non-cellular living things, they are microparticles consisting of nucleic acids - carriers of genetic information (RNA and / or DNA), externally covered with a 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 examined with an electron microscope. Viruses can live and develop only in the cells of other organisms. Viruses cannot live outside the cells of living organisms, and many of them behave like chemicals in the environment, presenting themselves in the form of crystals. By settling in 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, giardia, toxoplasma, cryptosporidium, as well as Plasmodium falciparum, leishmaniasis, trypanosomes. Among the parasitic protozoa are known causes of the most dangerous diseases of animals and humans, especially in the tropics (malaria, dysentery). Plasmodium malaria infects human red blood cells, leading to attacks of severe, febrile death. Whip trypanosomes and leishmaniasis are predominantly tropical species that, when fed on animal tissue, cause ulcers, malaise, and in some cases death. Living in the gut, the rhizome Entamoeba histolytica is the cause of chronic amoebic dysentery, which can penetrate other tissues and kill the host. The lateral intestinal parasite Giardia lamblia causes severe diarrhea (giardiasis). This species is found in rivers and lakes polluted by human excrement in subtropical and tropical regions. Some parasites, such as the pneumonia-causing species Pneumocystis carinii, may be closer to the fungus than to other protozoa.
4. Helminths (worms, worms)
More than 70 species of worms have been registered, of which the following species of helminths are more common:
- roundworms (nematodes)- roundworms, pinworms, whips, Trichinella, toxocara;
- tapeworms (cestodes)- porcine and bovine tapeworms, dwarf tapeworms, echinococci, alveococci, broad tapeworms;
- flatworms (flukes)- 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 areas of tropical, subtropical and temperate climates.
- Trichinella- in Belarus, Ukraine.
- swine tapeworm- recorded everywhere, more common in Belarus and Ukraine.
- bull tapeworm- found everywhere. Especially in the Caucasus and Central Asia.
- dwarf tapeworm- found everywhere, especially in areas with dry and hot climates.
- broad tapeworm- usually selects habitats in areas with a large number of freshwater bodies. Constantly present in the Baltics, Kazakhstan.
- opisthorchiasis(feline methyl) - the most intense outbreaks are registered in Kazakhstan.
- liver fluke- ubiquitous. Outbreaks have been reported in the Caucasus, Central Asia and the Baltics.
- echinococcosis, alveococcosis- in Moldova, in the southern part of Ukraine, in the Caucasus.
There are more than a 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 the parasites and their larvae are in the tissues of the human body, in the subcutaneous tissue they move freely through 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 also differ in their specific location (habitat) on humans as their host.
External parasites.
This species parasitizes on the skin of the human body directly outside, they do not live inside the host, but use it only during their 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, bilaterally symmetrical free-living or parasitic organisms. The length of the trematodes varies from 0, 1 mm to several meters, the body structure is mostly flattened, oval or more or less elongated; in parasitic forms it is equipped with organs for attachment to the "host" in the form of shoots, trunk, hooks, etc. Representatives of flatworms are turbelaria or ciliary worms; opisthorchiasis (feline fluke), planaria, hepatic fluke, clonorch, fasciola, schistosome, pulmonary fluke.
- Roundworms (nematodes), free-living parasites of this class live in saline and freshwater bodies, soil. In most cases, their size is small, even microscopic, but among the parasitic individuals there are quite large, reaching a length of over seven meters (cetacean helminth). The most common representatives of roundworms of human parasites are roundworms, pinworms, whips, filariasis, strongyloids, hookworms, Trichinella, toxocara, scab.
- Tapeworms (cestodes, tapeworms),This class of helminths is characterized by a characteristic long body, similar to a band (from several fractions per millimeter to tens of meters). Cestodes - worms with an elongated body, similar to a band consisting of head, neck and individual segments, are characterized by great fertility (some species are able to produce up to 600 million eggs per year) - pig and beef tapeworms, dwarf tapeworms - a group of cyclophilids; 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 bacteria of one type, others are caused by bacteria of several types. 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 most famous pathogens of mycoses are candida, cryptococcus, penicillium.
- Protozoa or protozoan parasitesare unicellular organisms that have a heterotrophic type of nutrition, ie they are not able to produce organic substances necessary for their vital activity from inorganic ones. The consequence of this is their need for organic substances produced by other organisms (amoeba, lamblia, coccidia, Trichomonas).
Sad facts about worms and other parasites:
- Chronic, 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.By forming colonies on the walls of blood vessels, Trichomonas leads to the development of atherosclerosis with all the consequences.
- 1989 - Trichomonas is found to turn ordinary cells into malignant.
- 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).Every third inhabitant of Europe is affected by parasites (including worms)!
The frequency of parasitosis is comparable in frequency to the incidence of influenza.
So, there are several ways for parasites to enter the human body:
- Alimentary - lack of personal hygiene(through contaminated food, water, dirty hands);
- Household contact - creating external conditions for active development of parasites(through household items, infected family members, pets);
- Transmissible - without precautions(through insects, blood-sucking);
- Percutaneously or actively - non-compliance with safety measures(where the larva of the parasite penetrates the skin or mucous membranes in the human body in contact with contaminated soil, when swimming in open water).