Parasitology: diseases — симптомы, диагностика и лечение

Giardiasis is an intestinal infection caused by a single-celled parasite that lives in the small intestine. They become infected through water, unwashed food and dirty hands, so the disease is especially common among preschool and primary school children. More myths have accumulated around Giardia than around any other intestinal infection: they are accused of allergies, of “slagging in the liver”, they are treated prophylactically by the whole family and are found “in everyone” in a blood test. The truth is different. Giardia does not live in the liver or gallbladder, but in the small intestine; their presence in the body does not equal disease; and the diagnosis is made by detecting the parasite itself or its antigen in the stool, and a single negative test does not exclude anything.

Helminth infections are a group of diseases caused by parasitic worms that live in the intestines or, less commonly, in other organs. Each species has its own route of infection, its own symptoms and its own treatment, and combining them into the general word “worms” is only convenient in conversation. In a medical sense, these are different diseases. Hence the main practical conclusion, which contradicts the common habit: “taking a pill for worms once a year with the whole family for prevention” is not prevention. The drug acts on specific parasites, does not protect against subsequent infection, has side effects and is completely useless if there are no helminths. The correct sequence is the reverse: first, examination if there are indications, then treatment according to the result.

Echinococcosis is a parasitic disease in which a slowly growing cyst with tapeworm larvae forms in organs, most often in the liver. For Central Asia, this is not exotic, but a real regional problem: infection is associated with keeping dogs and breeding sheep and cattle. The key feature of the disease is that it is asymptomatic for years: the cyst grows several millimeters per year, and a person finds out about it by chance, during an ultrasound for another reason. That is why an early finding on ultrasound is luck and not a reason for panic.