Nekator

This genus of parasite is quite common in Africa, East Asia, North and South America. Necator is very similar to the crooked head. Its activity causes symptoms similar to its work in humans. The main place of invasion is the duodenum of the human body.

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Necator structure

A parasitologist is a specialist who studies various parasitic organisms that invade, including the human body. A qualified parasitologist knows all representatives of his area of interest "by sight", because each bioorganism is individual.

The structure of the necator is also unique. It is a worm, usually measuring from 5 to 13 mm. Representatives of this biogroup have a body shape that is characteristic only for them (curved along the back).

In contrast to the crooked head, the hookworm is also equipped with a mouth capsule, only it is somewhat smaller than that of the crooked head. The parasite considered in this article has special cutting plates "in its mouth" instead of teeth.

The hookworm and the hookworm are practically indistinguishable at the egg stage.

Types of Necator

Modern parasitology can boast of numerous studies and their results, but perhaps even more knowledge remains closed to humans. Therefore, today the types of hookworm known to scientists and doctors are limited to hookworm americanus. This parasite has been studied sufficiently by doctors, which, when symptoms of its presence appear, allows them to actively fight it.

Necator americanus

Necator americanus, or as it is also called - the New World hookworm, has a yellowish-gray surface, with a rather steeply curved body. The male parasite is slightly smaller in size: from 5 to 10 mm in length and from 0.18 to 0.24 mm in thickness. The female is slightly larger and can "boast" of sizes from 7 to 14 mm, with a thickness of 0.38 to 0.45 mm.

The eggs of the worms in question are determined by their dimensions: length from 0.064 to 0.072 mm, and thickness from 0.036 to 0.040 mm. One individual produces up to 15 thousand eggs.

The parasite's name was given to it because it was first discovered on the American continent, although these worms were later diagnosed in residents of Africa and East Asia.

The average life cycle of one individual is 10 to 15 years.

Being hematophagous by nature, parasitic worms, getting into the bloodstream of the body, they produce a specific enzyme that inhibits the process of blood clotting. On average, one individual produces from 0.03 ml to 0.05 ml of blood. Over the course of three to five days, the parasites, along with the blood, spread throughout the body, getting into the lung tissue, bronchi, alveoli, mouth and nasopharynx, trachea, after which they move with saliva through the digestive organs into the duodenum.

The average residence time in the human intestine is about four years.

Life cycle of a necator

From the point of view of biological development, the life cycle of the hookworm is comparable to the stages of development of parasitic worms of ankylostomiasis, which can exist in the human body for a long time.

The life of the hookworm begins when its egg gets into the soil, which happens together with the feces coming out of the body of the carrier. The optimal temperature indicators at which the active development of the worm - parasite occurs - are from 28 to 30 ºС, but it feels good in a wider temperature range - from 14 to 40 ºС. The level of soil moisture is also of no small importance. It should not be dry.

Seven to ten days after entering favorable conditions, the egg begins to transform into a filaria, which receives an esophagus, which is an elongated cylinder. As soon as the parasite transforms, acquiring this form, it becomes infectious. It is at this stage that the worms acquire mobility and the ability to move in the ground in different directions.

As soon as the human body comes into contact with contaminated soil, the parasitic worms, attracted by the heat emitted by the human body, begin to actively move towards the body, and then deeper into the small capillaries through the skin.

You can also become infected with the parasite through the oral cavity, when the larvae enter the patient’s body along with vegetables, fruits or contaminated water.

As soon as the worm enters the body, it begins to move along with the blood throughout the body (along the small and large circulatory rings). This procedure takes from seven to ten days.

The larvae then penetrate the saliva and, together with it, when swallowed, the invasive parasites penetrate into the duodenum of the host, where the parasites live until they reach “sexual maturity”.

Adults produce eggs, which are again released into the environment with feces. Eight to ten weeks after infection, sexually mature helminths are already able to leave the human body.

A person who is a carrier of the hookworm does not pose a danger to people around him. This is due to the fact that at the time of exit from the human body, the eggs do not yet have invasive capabilities, since they must still go through a certain development cycle in the soil. There is evidence that the eggs of the parasite in question can exist without harm to themselves for up to 15 years.

During the time when the parasites that have penetrated migrate through the patient’s body, they cause symptoms of toxic poisoning and an allergic reaction of the host’s body to aggression.

Adult parasites are hematophages - biological organisms that feed on the blood of other animals. Getting into the duodenum, they attach to its mucous wall. This causes intestinal trauma, which subsequently causes internal bleeding in the human body, the formation of ulcers and erosions, hemorrhage, anemia, constantly causing an allergic reaction of the host to a foreign presence. With prolonged damage to the digestive tract, dyspepsia (indigestion) and / or dyskinesia (disorder of coordinated motor acts of internal organs) begins to develop.

Symptoms of Necator

The first thing that the larvae do when in contact with human skin is to penetrate the surface layers of the dermis into the body. At this stage of invasion, the parasite causes itching and burning on the skin. Various rashes may also appear: pustules, vesicles, papules, erythematoses, the manifestations of which can remain present for the next several months.

In case of mass damage to the patient's body, symptoms of necator can manifest as significant swelling of the upper and lower extremities.

After the invasion has occurred, the larvae penetrate both the large and small bloodstream rings. And the blood carries them throughout the body. When they enter the respiratory system, the parasites cause various catarrhal abnormalities in the human host: shortness of breath, wheezing and wheezing when inhaling and exhaling. Against the background of such a picture of invasion, the patient may develop pneumonia, pleurisy or bronchitis.

At the same time, the presence of parasites in the body provokes an allergic reaction to toxins – the consequences of the vital activity of worms and their larvae.

Reaching the duodenum, the parasites accumulate in it and enter the stage of sexual maturation. The organisms live, attached with teeth - plates to the intestinal mucosa, which invariably leads to its injury. From here, a person develops wounds, ulcers and erosive areas on the surface of the mucosa. Internal bleeding may occur, hemorrhagic zones may form, which gradually leads to the development of hypochromic iron deficiency anemia and persistent allergies, manifested by their symptoms.

When parasites "live" in the duodenum, the patient begins to show signs of dyspepsia - a disorder of the digestive tract. Symptoms of dyskinesia may also develop - a complex imbalance in the functioning of the biliary system, caused by changes in the motor function of the gallbladder and bile ducts in the absence of their organic changes.

The presence of a parasite in the digestive tract provokes the development of duodenitis - an inflammatory process localized in the duodenum, in which its mucous membrane suffers most severely.

This turn in the course of pathological development is accompanied by the appearance of:

• Unpleasant burping.
• Heartburn.
• Nausea, which, if intense, can provoke the appearance of a gag reflex.
• Often there is a disturbance of appetite, both in the direction of its deterioration and vice versa.
• Taste preferences may change and taste perversion may be observed. For example, a person may want to add chalk or clay to their diet.
• Painful symptoms may appear in the liver area and under the pit of the stomach.
• Symptoms of diarrhea are also not uncommon.
• Hypoalbuminemia - the test results show a decrease in the quantitative indicators of protein in the patient's blood.
• They also affect the central nervous system, which manifests itself in a loss of strength, lethargy and apathy.
• If the invasion affects small children, then, oddly enough, with prolonged damage, such children begin to lag behind their peers in mental and physical development.

Treatment of necator

The treatment protocol for a patient's body affected by nekator largely depends on the stage of the lesion and the severity of the changes that occurred when the patient sought help from a qualified specialist.

If the patient's body has obvious signs of anemia, and the blood test showed a quantitative component of hemoglobin less than 67 g per liter, iron preparations are mandatory. These can be actiferri, caferid, ferrum lek, phytoferrolactol, ferronal, ferrocal, totema, gemostimulin, maltofer, hemofer and venofer.

The medicine containing iron phytoferrolactol is taken by the patient one tablet three times a day. The course of treatment is from six to eight weeks.

Contraindications to the use of phytoferrolactol are:

• Increased intolerance by the patient's body to one or more components of the drug.
• Acute and chronic enteritis (an inflammatory process localized in the tissues of the large intestine).
• If the patient has a history of hemosiderosis – accumulation of dark, yellowish pigments in the skin.
• Hemolytic anemia, which is manifested by a decrease in hemoglobin levels, caused by increased breakdown of red blood cells.
• Hemochromatosis is a disorder in the metabolism of iron-containing pigments.
• Acute and chronic gastritis (an inflammatory process localized in the tissues of the stomach).
• Ulcerative disease of the stomach and duodenum.

Treatment of necator also cannot be done without antiparasitic drugs, of which the most frequently prescribed drugs to relieve the problem in question are albendazole, naftamon, levamisole, combantrin, pyrantel, mebendazole or carbendacim.

A synthetic drug with a broad spectrum of anthelmintic effects, mebendazole, is prescribed by a doctor for oral administration.

Adult patients and adolescent children are prescribed the drug in a dosage of 0.1 g twice a day (in the morning and evening). The duration of the treatment course is three days. After three weeks, a repeat test examination is carried out. And if its results show the presence of parasites in the patient's body, antihelminthic therapy is repeated.

Contraindications to the use of the drug in question in the therapy protocol include individual hypersensitivity to the components of the drug, nonspecific ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, severe liver dysfunction. As well as pregnancy, lactation time and the age of young patients who are under two years old.

Deworming with naftamon is carried out in the morning, on an empty stomach. An adult should take 5 g of the drug once a day. The duration of therapy is from two to five days. The necessary duration of treatment is determined by the attending physician based on the clinical picture of the disease, the severity and extent of the lesion.

To at least slightly brighten up the unpleasant bitter taste of medicines from necator, the drug can be dissolved in 50 ml of sugar syrup, which should be warm.

The drug pyrantel or combantrin is taken by the patient twice a day at a dosage of 0.01 g per kilogram of the patient's weight.

Decaris or levamisole has its own schedule of administration, expressed as one daily administration at a dosage of 2.5 mg, calculated per kilogram of the patient’s weight.

Doctors estimate the effectiveness level of this group of drugs at 80%. On average, the treatment course lasts three days.

If necessary, the attending physician may also prescribe folic acid to his patient.

Folic acid is a B vitamin preparation that effectively helps restore the normal functioning of various metabolic processes, normalizes the maturation of megaloblasts and the formation of normoblasts.

In adult therapy, the drug is taken at a rate of 5 mg per day. For children, the dosage is reduced depending on their age. The duration of treatment is from 20 to 30 days.

During the period when a woman is carrying her baby, the daily dosage of the vitamin in question is 0.4 mg, and during the period of breastfeeding the newborn, this figure is determined by the figure of 0.3 mg.

It should be noted that the probability of "meeting" with such a worm - a parasite as a hookworm can and should be reduced to a minimum. To do this, it is necessary not to walk without shoes in places where they are likely to settle in the soil, do not lie on the ground without a blanket. You should also carefully ensure that the food you consume is well washed or thermally processed. It is worth making a habit of not drinking unboiled water. Well, if the invasion still occurred, you should not panic. It is worth contacting a qualified specialist as soon as possible, undergoing an examination and drug treatment, after which you can forget about the unpleasant problem. Do not despair, get treatment and be healthy!