The document discusses different types of worm infestations that can infect humans, including tapeworms, flukes, and roundworms. It provides details on the lifecycles and characteristics of each type. Symptoms are outlined for specific worm infestations like hookworms, ascariasis, pinworms, whipworms, and tapeworms. The document concludes with sections on prophylaxis, general pathophysiology, and pathophysiology of liver flukes and hookworms. Prevention measures include thoroughly cooking meat, freezing meat, washing hands, and treating water when traveling.
2. Worm Infestations:
Worm Infestation are long-term diseases
that produce few symptoms in their early
stages and sometimes serious effects at well
developed stages or may be quite fatal at times.
5. Tapeworms :
(i) Tapeworms live in human intestines where they feed on
the partially-digested food in their host’s intestines.
(ii) It is a fully protected environment and they grow and
thrive in these conditions.
(iii) Tapeworms are parasitic worms and are most often
referred to as just parasites.
(iv) They literally survive through their host’s nutrients.
Parasites need hosts to survive.
6. Flukes:
(i) Flukes are a type of parasitic Flatworm. Flukes get their name from
the way they look as they are flat and the word "fluke" comes from a
German word "flah" meaning "flat".
(ii) Flukes have at least one external sucker, which they use to attach
themselves to their host. Some flukes live on the gills, skin or outside of
their hosts while others, such as blood flukes that live in humans, live
internally in their hosts.
(iii) Blood flukes are largely confined to very hot tropical areas such as
North Africa and South East Asia and contribute to some extreme health
conditions.
7. Roundworms:
(i) Some of the most common types of Roundworms include
Pinworms or Threadworms, Hookworms, Ascaris (a word that literally
means ‘intestinal worm’) and Heartworms.
(ii) Roundworms have hollow bodies and openings at either end
and generally grow between 2-5 inches long. Roundworms are very
commonly found in pets and animals such as dogs and cats and can be easily
passed on to humans.
(iii) Roundworms live in salt water, fresh water and the soil. Eating
contaminated foods or getting worms from contaminated pets is the most
usual way to get roundworms (a category of worms).
(iv) Hookworms and pinworms are often the most common types
of roundworms found in humans.
10. Symptoms:
HOOK WORMS:
(i) Abdominal pain
(ii) Colic (cramping and excessive crying in infants)
(iii) Intestinal cramps
(iv) Nausea
(v) Fever
(vi) Blood in your stool
(vii) Appetite loss
(viii) Itchy rash
ASCARIS:
(i) Nausea
(ii) Vomiting
(iii)Irregular stools
(iv)Visible worms in the stool
(v) Stomach or abdominal pain
(vi)Weight loss
11. PIN WORMS :
(i) Frequent and strong itching of the anal area
(ii) Restless sleep due to the itching and discomfort
(iii) Pain, rash, or other skin irritation around the anus
(iv) The presence of pinworms in the area of your child’s anus
(v) The presence of pinworms in stools
WHIP WORM:
(i) Bloody Diarrhea
(ii) Painful or Frequent defecation
(iii) Abdominal Pain
(iv) Nausea
(v) Vomiting
(vi) Headaches
(vii)Sudden and unexpected weight loss
(viii) Fecal incontinence, or the inability to control defecation
TAPE WORM :
(i) Pain
(ii) Unexplained weight loss
(iii) Blockage of the intestine
(iv) Digestive problems
13. Prophylaxis:
(i) Cook meat to temperatures of at least 145 degree F for whole cuts of meat and to
at least 160 degree F for ground meat.
(ii) Then let it rest for at least 3 minutes before carving or eating.
(iii) Freeze meat to -4 degrees F for at least 24 hours to kill tapeworm eggs.
(iv) When traveling in undeveloped countries, cook fruits and vegetables with boiled
or chemically-treated water before eating.
(v) Wash hands with soap and hot water before preparing or eating foods.