These worm diseases lead to diarrhoea
The occurrence of diarrhea is a common symptom of various worm diseases. These include, for example, various hookworms, which are found in the small intestine and lead to blood in the stool. These worms enter the human body through the skin.
Certain types of threadworm, which are mainly transmitted through uncooked meat, can also lead to diarrhoea, vomiting and muscle pain. After entering the body through the skin, the dwarf threadworm first causes inflammation of the respiratory tract and later diarrhea and nausea. One of the best known bacterial pathogens of infectious diarrhoea is salmonella.
They are transmitted via contaminated food and are often found in meat or egg dishes. Since they cannot be killed by cold, it is always advisable to heat the food sufficiently. For this purpose, the food should be heated at a minimum of 70°C for about 10 minutes.
The first symptoms may appear a few hours later, depending on the amount of pathogens transmitted. Pronounced diarrhea occurs, which is usually very watery and can also partially contain blood. These often occur together with severe vomiting.
In addition, sometimes fatigue, headaches and slight fever also occur. In people who are simultaneously taking immunosuppressive medication or who suffer from an immunosuppressive disease, salmonella can also lead to life-threatening blood poisoning. Drug therapy is only recommended in the case of severe courses of the disease or immunosuppression, as otherwise the antibiotics can delay the elimination of the salmonella from the body.
Campylobacter is the most common pathogen of infectious diarrhoea in Germany.It is mainly transmitted through contaminated food, such as poultry or dairy products, and is highly contagious. Approximately 2-5 days after transmission, unspecific symptoms similar to influenza initially appear. Later, strong, watery and often bloody diarrhea occurs.
They often occur together with fever and severe pain in the lower abdomen. As the symptoms usually subside by themselves after a few days, it is important to ensure a sufficient supply of fluids and electrolytes. In particularly severe cases, antibiotic treatment should be considered if necessary.
Shigella is usually transmitted by contaminated water or food. In the latter case, insufficiently cleaned vegetables are typical. After transmission, diarrhea usually occurs within 3 days.
These are often very watery and occur together with a strong lassitude. Occasionally, there is also a more pronounced form, accompanied by blood in the stool, fever and pain when defecating. Shigella dysentery should always be treated with antibiotics such as azithromycin or ceftriaxone because of the high risk of infection.
The cholera bacterium, which is rarely found in Europe, is usually transmitted via contaminated food or contaminated drinking water. After an infection has subsided, it can be excreted in the stool for several weeks, which in turn carries a high risk of infection. The diarrhea caused can be of varying severity and is occasionally accompanied by vomiting.
Typically, however, a cholera infection does not lead to fever. A sufficient fluid intake is extremely important, for example, ciprofloxacin should be given for more severe courses of the disease. Since about 1% of all cholera infections are fatal, vaccination is recommended when travelling to risk areas.
E. coli is a bacterium that occurs naturally in the intestine. However, there are pathogenic subtypes, such as EHEC or EPEC, which can lead to diarrhoea. EHEC occurs more frequently in industrialized countries and leads to watery diarrhea after 10 days at the latest, which is sometimes bloody.
EPEC, on the other hand, occurs mainly in developing countries and mainly infects children. It leads to rather mushy diarrhea, which is difficult to treat due to the many resistances of the bacteria. The Yersinia bacteria can be transmitted indirectly through animal food, such as dairy or meat products.
After about 3-10 days they lead to diarrhea, which can last for weeks and is accompanied by abdominal pain. Furthermore, a so-called pseudoappendicitis occurs, in which there are signs of inflammation of the appendix, but the actual inflammation is not present. If the course of the disease is pronounced, this infectious diarrhea disease should be treated with antibiotics such as ciprofloxacin.
Whipple’s disease is a disease caused by a bacterium. It is rather rare and mainly affects middle-aged men. Due to the intestinal infestation of the bacteria, diarrhoea, abdominal pain and a disturbed absorption of nutrients from food occur.
Furthermore, joint inflammation, fever and enlarged lymph nodes can occur. Occasionally the bacteria also attack the heart or various nerve tracts. Whipple’s disease must be treated with antibiotics (first ceftriaxone and later cotrimoxazole), otherwise the disease is fatal.
The bacterium Clostridium difficile is particularly common in hospitals and in children. Diarrhea usually only occurs when the intestine is irritated by prolonged antibiotic use. This is the case after pneumonia, for example.
Clostridia difficile use the damaged intestinal wall and lead to severe abdominal pain and malodorous diarrhea. A high fever is also often the result. Since this infectious diarrhea disease can lead to various complications such as intestinal obstruction (ileus) or blood poisoning (sepsis), quick treatment is important.
Here, antibiotics and the consistent adherence to hygiene are in the foreground. Noroviruses occur more frequently in hospitals and are transmitted from person to person. They are highly contagious and lead to symptoms within a few hours.
These include torrential vomiting and severe diarrhoea, which is particularly watery.Typically, the symptoms subside within 12 to a maximum of 48 hours after the onset. Therefore, treatment is only symptomatic and consists of a sufficient supply of fluid and electrolytes. As there is currently no vaccination available, the most effective prevention of this infection is to follow hygiene regulations.
The rotavirus occurs mainly in developing countries and mainly infects small children and elderly people. Since the virus is highly contagious and causes symptoms within a few hours, it often leads to a rapid spread of the disease. This includes sudden onset of watery diarrhea, accompanied by vomiting, fever and abdominal pain.
In addition, half of all infected persons suffer from an infestation of the throat and the windpipe. Treatment includes a sufficient supply of fluids and electrolytes. As babies in particular do not yet have a sufficiently developed immune system, an oral vaccination against rotavirus is recommended for them.
The parasitic pathogens amoebae lead to the disease amoebic dysentery. They are mainly transmitted through contaminated drinking water and cause no symptoms in almost 90% of infections. If symptoms occur, they can be divided into two forms.
If the amoebae infect the intestine, typical raspberry jelly-like diarrhea occurs, often accompanied by pain during bowel movements. Alternatively, if the amoebae infest the liver, they can lead to abscesses, an accumulation of pus. The treatment of amoebic dysentery consists of the antibiotics metronidazole and paromomycin.
The parasites Giardia lamblia (Lamblia) are mainly found in tropical and subtropical areas and are transmitted via contaminated drinking water. They cause severe abdominal pain and foamy, large amounts of diarrhea, which contain a lot of fat. Furthermore, nausea, flatulence, exhaustion and vomiting can occur.
In most cases, the symptoms subside after 2-3 weeks and only rarely lead to longer lasting complaints. The therapy consists of the administration of metronidazole.
