Contents:
- Medical Video: 5 Common Signs of Parasitic Diseases
- What is liver worm infection (chlonorchiasis)?
- Causes of liver worm infections
- Signs and symptoms of liver worm infection
- Treatment of liver worm infections
- Can liver worm infections be prevented?
Medical Video: 5 Common Signs of Parasitic Diseases
Even though it's small, you can't underestimate the type of parasitic worms that are around you. Liver worm infections (chlonorchiasis), for example, include infections that are very harmful to the body. Because, once infected and not treated immediately, liver worms can damage the body slowly even to life threatening. So, what are the causes and how do you deal with liver worm infections? Here's the full explanation.
What is liver worm infection (chlonorchiasis)?
Chlonorchiasis is a disease that occurs due to infectionChlonorchis sinensis or Chinese liver worms. Chlonorchis sinensis included in the flat-shaped trematode group elongated like a leaf. This type of worm can infect the liver, gallbladder, and bile ducts which are certainly harmful to the body.
Causes of liver worm infections
Some cases of chlonorchiasis are found in Asia. This case is found in people who consume freshwater fish that are imported, not cooked until they are fully cooked, or have been infected with parasitic cysts before.
Worm infection begins with ingestion of the liver Chlonorchis sinensis by snails that live in fresh water. This egg willhatch in the body of the snail and start experiencing the development phase of the worm,starting from the phase of mirasidia to cercariae (larvae). This part of the larvae will then be released by the snail through the faeces into the freshwater environment.Furthermore, larvae that swim in fresh water make it possible to touch and penetrate the body of the fish or even be eaten by it.
Humans can be infected with these parasitic worms when eating freshwater fish that are not well-cooked, marinated, formed pickled, smoked, or dried. Metacercaria cysts in freshwater fish will enter the small intestine and liver. These cysts will slowly damage the body's organs within three months to cause symptoms. People infected with liver worms can transmit it to other people through feces containing worm eggs and repeat the cycle from the beginning again.
Signs and symptoms of liver worm infection
Liver worm infection in the body shows typical symptoms that distinguish it from other worm infections, namely inflammation and blockage of the bile duct. In the acute phase, this disease can cause abdominal pain, nausea and diarrhea.
Chronic chlonorchiasis starts with a continuous infection that is not treated and develops more severely. In long-term infections, bile system swelling can cause bile duct cancer. In fact, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classifies parasitesChlonorchis sinensis as a carcinogen (cancer-causing) for humans. If left continuously, this can be life threatening.
Treatment of liver worm infections
Before treating liver worm infections, the doctor will first check for the presence of parasites in your body. This can be known through endoscopic procedures, ultrasound, CT scan, MRI, or microscopic examination of feces. These various procedures are performed to find the presence of worm eggs in the intestines and those that have developed into worm cysts.
After the doctor confirms a parasitic infection, the doctor may prescribe praziquantel, which is the only drug recommended by the World Health Organization aka WHO for the treatment of chlonorchiasis. This medicine is taken three times a day for 2-3 consecutive days at a dose of 25 mg / kg. Therefore, immediately consult a doctor if you feel the signs and symptoms of chlonorchiasis.
Can liver worm infections be prevented?
The good news is that Chlonorchiasis cannot be transmitted directly from one person to another. Transmission of this infection requires other living organisms such as snails and fish which are the media for transferring these parasites.
Thus, you can make a number of prevention efforts so as not to get infected with liver worms. Simply put, by making sure to cook fish meat until it's completely cooked.
The FDA recommends the temperature of fish storage to kill chlonorchiasis parasites, including:
- Save the fish inside freezer at a temperature of -20 degrees Celsius a maximum of 7 days or at a temperature of -35 degrees Celsius for 15 hours.
- Cook the fish at a temperature of at least 63 degrees Celsius.
