Introduction
Worm infestation is mainly known in the context of pets, but humans can also harbour worms. In medical terminology, worms are called helminths, and worm infestation is known as helminths. They are ingested with food or water and often infest organs of the digestive tract.
The worm infestation is not always very dangerous for humans, only some worm diseases can cause life-threatening complications. But they all have in common that they damage the organism, which is why the worm disease should be treated when the first signs appear. Symptoms of worm diseases are manifold and mainly affect the digestive system. It can cause anal itching, vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, constipation, loss of appetite, weight loss, abdominal pain and anemia.
Which worms are pathogenic for humans?
Worm infestation is a worldwide disease pattern, although it is more common in southern countries than in this country. Children are particularly affected by helmet pants, as they put their hands, which may have come into contact with worms while playing, into their mouths without washing. In adults, worms are usually transmitted through food or brought along on vacation.
There are two strains of the pathogenic worms: Plathelminthes, which are flatworms, are medically known as trematodes (sucking worms, leeches) and cestodes (tapeworms), and nemathelminths, which are nematodes (threadworms). This sounds very abstract at first. But many colloquial names or designations give the whole thing a little more form.
Trematodes include not only the Schistosomatidae, but also numerous flukes that settle in the gastrointestinal tract, such as the liver fluke (infestation of the liver and bile ducts) and the largest of all human pathogenic flukes, the intestinal fluke. The latter only occurs in Southeast Asia. The pulmonary fluke, which is transmitted via raw meat from crustaceans, also originates from East-Southeast Asia.
In addition to the intestinal infestation, it also attacks the lungs, the nervous system, the skin and the heart. The latter often ends deadly. Probably the most prominent representative of this family is the leech, which is known from alternative therapy methods or antiquity.
Infestation with leeches can cause bleeding in mouth and nose. The second strain that includes disease-causing worms is the cestodes, colloquially called tapeworms. This strain is known to colonize the human intestine and can be transmitted in many different ways.
The names of the respective tapeworm species allow conclusions to be drawn about the transmission route. The fish tapeworm is transmitted by the consumption of raw infected freshwater fish, but is rare in Central Europe. Other representatives are the bovine tapeworm and the pig tapeworm.
Humans usually serve as intermediate hosts for the dog tapeworm, while only dogs or cats are affected by the dog tapeworm as final hosts. Finally, the fox tapeworm is also a known and dangerous representative of this type. The fox tapeworm triggers alveolar echinococcosis in the liver, which can lead to fatigue, abdominal pain and jaundice after a long incubation period.
The last group of the disease-causing worms are the nematodes. These include trichinae, the roundworm and oxyurs. Hygiene measures as well as quality assurance measures in the form of meat inspection of pork should prevent trichinae from infecting people via this transmission path. In the event of infection, they trigger rheumatism-similar symptoms.
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