Trichinosis

Trichinosis General Information

Worm infections are very serious medical conditions that require special and close medical attention. Most of them can be easily prevented if people are well informed and know what to do to avoid getting infected. This first section of our presentation contains the most important pieces of information about Trichinosis; if you still have some questions, we advise you to contact your health care provider or other trained specialist in this type of medical disorder. One of the most common parasitic diseases is Trichinosis, also known as trichiniasis or trichinellosis. More prone to develop it are the people who live in developing countries where pigs are fed most of the time with raw garbage. This happens because in those areas, the population consumes daily undercooked or raw wild game or pork infected with the cysts of a roundworm called trichinella spiralis or trichina worm. This type of worm can be found in bears, horses, pork, fox, lion or rat meat. A possible source of infection is represented by the wild animals, especially animals that eat both plants and meat (called omnivores) and animals that eat only meat (called carnivores). The domestic meat animals that are raised under surveillance are considered safe. When humans eat contaminated meat, the larvae pass into the intestines and mature into adult worms in several weeks. These adults produce larvae that travel through tissues, such as muscles. Trichinosis can be very easily prevented by cooking properly everything you eat. The main treatment is based on medications that may not always be necessary.

Trichinosis Symptoms

Knowing the specific signs and symptoms of a disease may help you understand better what happens in your organism and when to seek for medical attendance. Trichinosis has several stages of development characterized by certain manifestations. If the number of parasites in your body is small, then you deal with a milder form of the disease that usually is asymptomatic. As the parasites migrate throughout your body, Trichinosis progresses and the symptoms develop with moderate to heavy infection. If the larvae penetrate the intestines and mature into adult roundworms that then mate, the patient may accuse malaise, nausea and vomiting, cough, dyspepsia, severe abdominal cramps and diarrhea. After a week of the infection, the adult female worm produces larvae that leave the intestines and enter the bloodstream and eventually burrow into the tissues, for example muscles.

If the tissues are invaded, the patients experience conjunctivitis (pink eye), high fever (over 40oC), headache, sensitivity to light, itching, tenderness, weakness, fatigue, muscle pain, swelling of the face and eyelids, chills, joint pain etc. The list may not be complete because the human organism reacts differently when it is attacked. This is why some patients may experience unique and particular signs and symptoms, while persons with a compromised immune system may suffer from more severe and painful manifestations. Trichinosis becomes more dangerous if the worms enter the CNS (central nervous system). Although they do not survive here, they can cause serious damage leading to neurological deficits, for example respiratory paralysis or ataxia, and eventually death.

Trichinosis Treatment

If a disease is discovered in time and treated properly, the chances for a full recovery increase significantly. For this, we advise you to contact your health care provider as soon as you start experiencing any of the signs and symptoms specific for Trichinosis. Because this type of infectious disease may not present symptoms, you should do a medical check if you suspect that the meat you ate was infested. During the medical examination you will be asked about your signs and symptoms, your history heaving eaten uncooked or raw meat that might have been infected. In order to rule out other similar conditions, the health care provider will order some tests. The most common laboratory tests that identify Trichinosis are muscle biopsy, CPK, CBC (complete blood count), and serology studies. Stool culture can also help identifying the adult worms. If the results of these tests are positive and the patient suffers from this medical condition, the health care provider will proceed immediately with applying the proper treatment option.

Before recommending any therapy, the specialists must determine the exact stage of the disease. Usually, Trichinosis does not develop to severe stages and gets better on its own. In the case that the patients develop symptoms, medication is always used. In order to relieve the pain, corticosteroids and Aspirin are administrated to reduce the muscles soreness. The first line of treatment against this infectious disorder is based on antihelmintic (anti-parasite) medications. Although the larvae can not be destroyed, the adult worms can be killed by Thiabendazole, Mebendazole or Albendazole (if are administrated in the intestinal phase). Sometimes, GI (gastrointestinal) side effects may appear during the course of therapy and the patient may need to take more doses of medication to get completely rid of the parasite.

In the case that Trichinosis is discovered after the worms have invaded the muscles, anti-parasitic drugs are no longer effective because they can not eliminate the parasites anymore. So, for muscle aches doctors prescribe pain relievers that determine the larvae cysts to calcify, ending with the destruction of the larvae; the fatigue and muscle aches disappear completely. Allergic reactions appear often when the larvae die and release chemicals in the muscle tissues or when the larvae just enter the muscle tissue. To treat them, your doctor will prescribe corticosteroids that control the inflammation during the migration of larvae. All the mentioned medicines must be taken as the health care provider recommended or as it says in the drug package. Avoid losing doses and overdosing; otherwise, call immediately specialized medical care. If you develop allergic reactions, call your doctor and ask him/her if your treatment can be changed. These types of allergies interfere in the process of treating Trichinosis. To avoid this, do several allergic tests to determine the substances that are refused by your organism. With the right treatment applied in time and followed as recommended, the prognosis is good and the expectations are high. More severe stages are difficult to treat, especially if the parasite reaches the heart, brain or lungs.