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| Trichinosis |
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- What is trichinosis? How does the trichinella worm affect the human
body?
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Trichinosis is an infection by the larvae of a roundworm, Trichinella
spiralis. This parasite can infect virtually every meat-eating mammal.
Unlike the other parasitic roundworm diseases that have been discussed,
trichinosis is not an intestinal infection in the usual sense. It is the
migration of T. spiralis larvae through the body and their encystment
(becoming enclosed in a capsule) in a muscle that creates serious problems.
The parasite is especially common in rats and in pigs that feed
on uncooked garbage. The disease occurs in humans when they eat undercooked
infected pork. It is for that reason that this infection is more common
in those who eat pork.
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| Larva of Trichinella |
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| How does the disease spread? |
| Typically, the life cycle of the parasite begins
when a person or an animal eats contaminated meat containing larvae. Digestive
juices from the stomach dissolve the capsule-like cyst and release the parasites.
The larvae then penetrate into the intestine where they mature and mate.
Female worms then pass larvae into the blood stream where they make their
way through the capillaries (tiny blood vessels) into the muscle fibers.
Once in the muscle fibers, they encyst again and begin a long life. |
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| What are the symptoms of trichinosis? |
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The average case of trichinosis is not severe and produces no noticeable
discomfort. It can produce symptoms that are frequently overlooked or
ignored - mild abdominal pain and aches in the muscles and joints. Invasion
by a large number of parasites, however, produces symptoms that mimic
food poisoning followed by severe "muscular rheumatism."
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| How is trichinosis diagnosed? |
Although a doctor may suspect that a patient has
trichinosis on the basis of clinical signs, it is usually diagnosed by the
following methods:
1) a blood test that shows an increase in the number of eosinophils, a type
of white blood cell,
2) microscopic examination of muscle tissue to look for the larvae. |
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| How is trichinosis treated? |
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A doctor can prescribe medicines only to relieve symptoms. There is no
treatment for the infection. If the doctor diagnoses infection while the
patient is still having digestive symptoms, standard antiparasite drugs
can be used to dislodge some of the worms. Once encystment of the parasite
has begun, treatment will be for the symptoms. In most cases, the chances
of recovery are good.
Thiabendazole may help patients with trichinosis if treatment is begun
very early, during the incubation state. Corticosteroids can relieve the
inflammatory reaction during the larval migration state, and the patient
should take them with thiabenazole. Steroids could, however, prolong the
intestinal phase of the infection.
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| How can trichinosis infection be prevented? |
| The parasite can be killed by cooking (allowing
all parts of the meat to reach at least 150 degrees Fahrenheit), or freezing
(16 degrees Fahrenheit for 36 hours). Irradiation can also kill T. spiralis.
Smoking, pickling, and other methods of processing or preserving meats do
not kill the parasite. |
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| Hookworms |
| Pinworms |
| Roundworms |
| Strongyloidiasis
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| Whipworms |
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| This page was last updated on July 05, 2001 |
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