What are the worms that can live in the human body called?

Worms or helminths are parasites that live, feed, grow and reproduce in the human body, in other words, they use it to implement their life cycle. According to various statistics, there are 300 to 500 types of worms in the world that are dangerous for humans. Their prevalence varies from country to country and depends on the level of sanitary culture of the population and the socio-economic development of the region. But even in enlightened European countries, symptoms of helminthiasis are found in a third of the population. Worm larvae can enter the human body in different ways, depending on the cycle of their development. Names of worms in humans, their species, as well as ways of infection, symptoms and methods of treatment of helminthiasis are information that is relevant for the majority of the world's population.

What kinds of worms are there?

During many years of evolution, parasites have ideally adapted to live at the expense of other living beings, without causing suspicion in the immune system for a long time, so the symptoms of worms in humans do not appear immediately, but can be completely absent or mild. expressed.

Worms are able to imperceptibly penetrate the body, camouflage themselves, destroy tissues and organs and poison the human body with toxins, living in it for a long time.

Some types of worms are dangerous only to humans, while others are parasitic on animals. Their sizes vary from microscopic to gigantic (15 or more meters in length). About three dozen parasites are common, including protozoa and single-celled creatures. Among all the diversity, there are 3 main groups of helminths depending on the characteristics of their life cycle:

1. Contact worms- found only in humans, have a simple developmental cycle that does not require more than one host. Typical representatives are pinworms; these are the most common intestinal worms in children. Infection occurs in families, children's groups, public places through unwashed hands, household objects (toys, books, curtains, etc. ) on which mature eggs of these worms have fallen, as well as by inhaling dust.
2. A group of geohelminths– their eggs must first mature in soil, water or sand. They enter the human body through the mouth with unwashed berries, vegetables or herbs (like roundworms and whipworms) or through the skin (like hookworms).
3. Biohelminths– they have a complex life cycle with a change of host. These worms appear in humans by eating poorly washed vegetables or raw water (echinococcus), animal meat contaminated with larvae (beef or pork tapeworm), planed fish and caviar (broad tapeworm), river fish (fluke or liver fluke), or through the bloodstream. (filaria).

Types of worms

All types of helminths are divided into 3 classes according to morphological characteristics:

1. Class Nematodes (roundworms)– roundworms, pinworms, hookworms, whipworms, trichinella. Roundworms are distinguished by the presence of separate sexes and have different sizes - from 1 cm (female pinworm) to 40 cm (ascaris).
2. Class trematodes (commonly called flukes)– Siberian fluke (cat fluke), schistosomes. They are always biohelminths and hermaphrodites, equipped with various devices for sucking and attaching to organs inside a person.
3. Class Cestodes (type of flatworms)- These are long band parasites. These include the broad tapeworm, pork and beef tapeworm - this is the largest worm, which can grow up to 20 meters in length. Flatworms feed on the entire surface of the body, they are hermaphrodites and biohelminths. Echinococcus is considered the smallest representative of cestodes.

What the world of worms is all about is great diversity and exceptional survival. The class of trematodes and cestodes are 100% parasites, but roundworms are heterogeneous, there are several tens of thousands of species, but not all of them like to parasitize in the human body. Most helminths lay eggs that can survive in the external environment for several months, and Trichinella is a viviparous individual.

In the human body, worms live not only in the intestines, some of them prefer to be found in the liver, lung parenchyma, brain, skin, muscle tissue, and even in the eyeballs.

Worms can be long-lived; for example, a cysticerc can live in the brain for many years; hydatid cyst growth continues for up to 10 years.

About roundworms

What are the most common worms:

1. Pinworms- they live in the lower parts of the small intestine and in the entire large intestine of humans; females lay eggs around the anus at night, causing the characteristic sign of enterobiasis in humans - itching. Transmission of worms between people takes place through dirty hands (eggs of these worms are very often found under children's nails), bedding and household items. Eggs are very light and can be transmitted through the air with dust, they remain viable for up to six months. These are the least toxic worms. Human excrement does not contain them, for diagnosis it is necessary to take a scraping from the perianal area.
2. Ascaris- a large worm with a curved end in the form of a hook; a mature individual can reach a length of up to half a meter. The eggs mature in the soil and enter the stomach and small intestine with unwashed berries, vegetables or herbs. The freed larvae bite through the intestinal wall, penetrate the venous liver vessels, from there, through the blood flow, rush to the lungs, the right part of the heart, sometimes to the brain and eyes, and inflammation develops in these organs. When coughing, sputum with larvae enters the mouth and is swallowed again in the gastrointestinal tract, where mature individuals develop and lay eggs after a month. These worms are brown or reddish in color because they steal red blood cells. The life span of roundworms is up to 2 years. For diagnosis, stool is tested for worm eggs.
3. Whipworm- a hair-like worm, about 5 cm long with a pointed end, with which it adheres to the inner surface of the intestinal wall. The eggs mature in the soil, from where they penetrate the intestines, where the larvae emerge. Whipworms feed on blood and like to stay inside the cecum and appendix, often causing inflammation and anemia. Life expectancy is about 3-4 years. To detect it, you need to test your stool for worm eggs.
4. Trichinella- a small round worm that moves between predators and livestock. A person becomes infected by eating meat with larvae; after a few days, a mature individual of trichinella forms in the intestines, which then gives birth to live larvae. Through the blood, they can infect the whole body, but they prefer skeletal muscles, where they remain for up to 5 years.

About tapeworms and flukes

What types of worms cause the most damage to the human body:

1. Bull tapeworm (popularly called tapeworm)- considered the largest worm in humans (up to 15-20 meters) with a ribbon-shaped body of thousands of individual segments, among which the most mature are in the tail and fall off as the eggs in them mature. These fragments are the size of a human fingernail, fall on the ground, grass, and then end up in the body of cattle. A person becomes infected through cow meat. Bovine tapeworm can live in the small intestine of a person for up to 10 years, feeding on the entire surface of the body. Feces are examined for diagnosis.
2. Pork tapeworm– similar to the bull tapeworm, but shorter in length. If a person becomes infected with the larvae, the tapeworm grows in his small intestine; when infected with eggs, the larvae migrate and can infect any organ.
3. Broad tapeworm– their worm type is flat, more than 12 meters long. A person becomes infected by consuming lightly salted caviar, dried or undercooked fish. It can inhabit the small intestine for decades, constantly releasing mature segments with larvae into the environment.
4. Echinococcus- the smallest parasite from the cestode class. Over several years, its larvae form cysts, which can be located in various organs and reach 10 cm or more in diameter. Infection occurs from dogs or sick cattle. The course is characterized by a marked clinical picture and risk of complications.
5. Cat (liver) fluke- a small worm that enters the human body by consuming poorly cooked freshwater fish, lives in the lumen of the small intestine, inside the bile and pancreatic ducts, can multiply quickly and live up to two decades.

Despite the great variety of species, it is possible to determine quite accurately which worm lives in the human body using modern diagnostic methods and an old proven test - feces for helminth eggs.

Treatment is carried out after confirming the diagnosis and prescribing the doctor.