What are the names of worms that can live in the human body?

Worms or helminths are parasites that live, feed, grow and multiply in the human body, in other words, use it to carry out their life cycle. According to various statistics, there are 300 to 500 types of worms in the world that are dangerous for humans. Their distribution differs by country and depends on the level of sanitary culture of the population and the socio-economic development of the region. However, even in enlightened European countries, helminthosis symptoms occur in one third of the population. Worm larvae can enter the human body in different ways depending on the development period. The names of worms in humans, their types, as well as methods of infection, symptoms and treatment methods of helminthosis are relevant information for the majority of the world's population.

What kinds of worms are there?

Over many years of evolution, parasites have been ideally adapted to live at the expense of other living creatures for a long time without raising suspicion in the immune system, so the symptoms of worms in humans may not be immediately visible, completely absent or mild. expressed.

Worms can penetrate the body imperceptibly, camouflage themselves, destroy tissues and organs, poison the human body with toxins, and live there 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 sizes (15 meters or more in length). About three dozen parasites, including protozoan unicellular organisms, are common. Among all the varieties, there are 3 main groups of helminths, depending on the characteristics of the life cycle:

1. Connection worms- found only in humans, has a simple developmental cycle that does not require multiple hosts. Typical representatives are pinworms; these are the most common intestinal worms in children. Infection occurs in families, children's groups, in public places through unwashed hands, household items (toys, books, curtains, etc. ) on which mature eggs of these worms have fallen, as well as by breathing in dust.
2. A group of geohelminths– their eggs must first mature in soil, water or sand. They enter the human body through unwashed berries, vegetables or herbs (such as roundworms and whipworms) or through the skin (such as hookworms).
3. Biohelminths– has a complex life cycle with changing hosts. These worms infect humans through poorly washed vegetables or raw water (echinococcus), animal meat contaminated with larvae (horn or pork tapeworm), cooked fish and caviar (broad tape), river fish (scary or liver spit), or through the bloodstream. appears when eaten. (filaria).

Types of worms

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

1. Class Nematode (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. A class of trematodes (commonly called flukes)– Siberian bird (cat shoots), 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 ribbon parasites. These include the broad tapeworm, pork and cattle - this is the largest worm that can grow up to 20 meters in length. Flatworms feed on the entire surface of the body, are hermaphrodites and biohelminths. Echinococcus is considered the smallest representative of cestodes.

The world of wolves is all about great diversity and exceptional survival. The class of trematodes and cestodes is 100% parasitic, but roundworms are heterogeneous, there are several tens of thousands of species, but not everyone likes to parasitize the human body. Most helminths lay eggs that can survive for several months in the external environment, and Trichinella is a viable organism..

In the human body, worms prefer to live not only in the intestines, but also in the liver, lung parenchyma, brain, skin, muscle tissue and even in the eyeballs.

Worms can be long-lived, for example, a cysticercus can live in the brain for many years, the growth of a hydatid cyst lasts up to 10 years.

About roundworms

Which worms are most common:

1. Pinworms- lives in the lower parts of the small intestine and the entire large intestine of people; females lay eggs around the anus at night, a characteristic sign of enterobiosis in humans - itching. Transmission of worms between people occurs through dirty hands (eggs of these worms are often found under children's nails), bedding, household items. Eggs are very light and can be transmitted by airborne dust, they remain viable for up to six months. These are the least poisonous among worms. Human feces do not contain them, for diagnosis it is necessary to take a scrap from the perianal area.
2. Ascaris- a large worm with a curved, hook-shaped end; an adult individual can reach a length of up to half a meter. Eggs hatch in the soil and enter the stomach and small intestine with unwashed berries, vegetables or herbs. The released larvae penetrate the venous liver vessels by biting the intestinal wall, from there they enter the lungs, the right parts of the heart, sometimes the brain and the eyes through the blood stream, and inflammation develops in these organs. When coughing, the sputum containing the larvae enters the mouth, and a month later it is reabsorbed into the gastrointestinal tract, where the egg-laying adults develop. These worms are brown or reddish in color because they miss red blood cells. The life of the tuber worm is up to 2 years. For diagnosis, stool is checked for worm eggs.
3. He built a whip- a hairy worm about 5 cm long, with a pointed end, which sticks to the inner surface of the intestinal wall. The eggs mature in the soil, from there they penetrate the intestines, where the larvae hatch. Whipworms feed on blood and like to stay inside the cecum and appendix, often causing inflammation and anemia. The lifespan is about 3-4 years. To detect it, you need to check if there are worm eggs in the feces.
4. Trichinella- a small roundworm that moves between predators and livestock. A person is infected with its larvae by eating meat, after a few days in the intestines an adult Trichinella is formed, which then gives birth to live larvae. They can infect the whole body through the blood, but they prefer the 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)- is considered the largest worm in humans (up to 15-20 meters) with a tape-shaped body consisting of thousands of individual segments, the most mature of which are in the tail, and in them the eggs fall as they mature. These fragments are the size of a human fingernail, fall to the ground, grass, and then into the cattle's body. Humans are infected through cow meat. Cow tapeworm can live in the small intestine of a person for up to 10 years, feeding on the entire surface of his body. Stool is examined for diagnosis.
2. He built pork– similar to bull tapeworm but shorter in length. If a person is infected with 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 straight, the length is more than 12 meters. A person becomes infected by eating weakly salted caviar, dried or undercooked fish. It can reside in the small intestine for decades, constantly releasing adult segments containing larvae into the environment.
4. Echinococcus- the smallest parasite of the cestode class. Over several years, its larvae form cysts 10 cm or more in diameter that can be located in various organs. Infection occurs from dogs or sick cattle. The course is characterized by a clear clinical picture and risk of complications.
5. Cat (liver) congestion- a small worm that enters the human body by consuming poorly cooked freshwater fish, lives in the lumen of the small intestine, bile and pancreatic ducts, multiplies quickly and can live for two decades.

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

Treatment is carried out after confirming the diagnosis and prescribing it by the attending physician.