Trichinellosis – symptoms, treatment and causes of the disease

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Trichinella is a disease caused by a parasite called Trichinella. Infection occurs by eating meat infected with the parasite. Trichinella larvae mature in the small intestine. The best prevention against trichinosis is the heat treatment of meat and long cooking.

Trichinosis – characteristics and causes

Trichinella is a parasitic disease that results from the presence of Trichinella nematodes. The disease develops as a result of eating meat that has been attacked by the larvae (there is no possibility of infection from another human). In the temperate climate zone, it can be the meat of wild boar, sheep, pigs, horses, rabbits or goats. Infection is rapid and can cause complications and even death.

Trichinella infection occurs as a result of eating domestic or wild pig meat in which the parasite larvae are present. After eating infected meat, gastric juice dissolves the shell, and the liberated trichinosis enters the small intestine and penetrates the villi of the mucosa there. The larvae penetrate the lymph and blood vessels of the human body. Then, with the flow of blood or lymph, they are spread throughout his body. The larvae are most often found in the muscles of the diaphragm, but also on the tongue, in the back and intercostal muscles. Settling larvae turn into blackheads, the shell of which begins to calcify over time.

Trichinosis development cycle

There are two characters in the Trichinella life cycle:

1. adult forms – female and male, the length of which does not exceed five mm,
2. larval forms – being newborn larvae, migrating and encysted.

Eating meat with encysted larvae (their invasive form) causes them to be released into the human digestive tract. It takes about three days for the larvae to reach maturity, and after this period they acquire the ability to reproduce. Females begin giving birth to larvae after about five days of attachment to the gastrointestinal tract. Newborn larvae leave the gastrointestinal tract through the lymphatic vessels and travel as wandering larvae throughout the body of an infected person.

The larvae have the ability to penetrate into any organ in the human body. This is when inflammation develops and eventually necrosis occurs.

Trichinosis symptoms

Trichinella larvae hatch from one week to 60 days, and the length of this period is influenced by many factors, such as the type of trichinella, the amount of meat eaten and the amount of trichinella contained in the meat. It is worth mentioning that the shorter the incubation period of the larvae, the more difficult the course of the trichinosis. The first symptoms of the disease may appear the next day after eating infected meat and are most often disorders of the digestive system.

The first period of infection: there is fever, nausea, vomiting and gastrointestinal disturbances.

Second phase: is the time when the larvae penetrate the bloodstream (usually occurs about 8 days after infection). Then the following appear:

1. muscle pain,
2. headaches,
3. bone pain,
4. general weakness
5. sometimes high temperature,
6. chills,
7. excessive sweating,
8. delirium,
9. swelling of the eyelids and face,
10. gastrointestinal disorders,
11. allergic skin eruptions,
12. increase in the number of eosinophils in the peripheral blood.

The third phase of the disease is a period of settling and encapsulation of the larvae in the muscles, which is characterized by severe muscle pain, sometimes reminiscent of rheumatic pain.

The severe course of the disease can lead to trismus, difficulty swallowing and paralysis of the facial nerve in some patients. Symptoms of the disease disappear after about seven weeks.

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Włośnica – diagnosis

The basis for the diagnosis of trichinosis is a medical interview with the patient, in which information from the patient about what meat and products were consumed by him is important. If the patient has symptoms that may suggest the disease, additional tests are ordered. Among other things, it is performed:

1. blood tests – attention should be paid to the high activity of muscle enzymes and the number of eosinophils;
2. serological test – they are the basis of the method and consist in performing an ELISA test, the task of which is to detect antibodies against trichinella antigens (IgM and IgA antibodies are detected at the earliest);
3. histopathological examination of the muscle (muscle biopsy) – should be performed about ten days after infection, as the larvae must reach the site;
4. allergic skin tests.

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Trichinosis treatment

Trichinosis treatment methods are usually divided into two groups:

1. causal treatment – the patient is administered antiparasitic preparations in the form of: pyrantel, mebendazole (Vermox) and albendazole, and the treatment itself takes about ten days. It is important to implement these drugs as soon as possible as they will be most effective during the intestinal phase of infection;
2. symptomatic treatment – relieving symptoms accompanying the disease, e.g. pain or high temperature. For this purpose, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are used, and in severe cases, the patient is given glucocorticosteroids.

Trichinosis treatment should always be carried out in a hospital. In addition, after completing the therapy, the patient should use as little energy as possible for several weeks and avoid overloading the muscles.

Complications of trichinosis

Complications can occur as a result of trichinosis, but they usually occur in patients who are diagnosed with the disease too late and treated. Possible complications of the disease may include:

1. myocarditis
2. meningitis
3. encephalitis
4. heart failure
5. pneumonia and pleurisy,
6. pulmonary embolism,
7. miscarriage or premature birth
8. mental disorders (e.g. psychosis),
9. Heart arythmia,
10. paresis or paralysis,
11. blurred vision.

How to prevent trichinosis?

Trichinella infection is prevented by:

1. avoiding eating meat that has not been previously tested,
2. full elimination of meat carcasses with revealed trichinella larvae,
3. avoiding eating uncooked and uncooked meat,
4. effective elimination of all possible sources of infection.

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