Diseases caused by Helminthes
Overview
1. Types:
I. Flat worms/ Platyhelminths
II. Round Worms/ Nematodes
2.
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Different diseases cause
Causative Agent/ Etiology
Mode of transmission/Epidemiology:
Signs and symptoms
Preventive measures
Treatment
Lymphatic Filariasis/Elephantiasis:
Causative Agent/ Etiology
It is caused by thread-like parasitic worms likeWuchereria a
bancrofti, Brugia malayi, and B. Timori. all of which are
transmitted by mosquitoes.
Mode of transmission/Epidemiology:
 Transmitted by mosquitoes' bites like Culex, Aedes, and
Anopheles species.
Signs and Symptoms:
 enlargement of the arms, legs, or genitals to elephantoid size.
 kidney damage
Preventive measures:
As with malaria, the most effective method of controlling the spread of
W.bancrofti and B.malayi is to avoid mosquito bites
Sleep under a bed net
Wear long sleeves and trousers
Use mosquitoes repellent, especially at night.
Improved and proper sanitation and environmental management
Treatment:
Maintaining careful hygiene in the infected persons to reduce the incidence
and spread of secondary infections
Anti-filariasis medicines like
Diethylcarbamazine (DEC)
reduces microfilariae concentrations
kills adult worms
Albendazole
kills adult worms
Ivermectin
kills the microfilariae produced by adult worms
Hookworms and diseases
Causative Agent/ Etiology
It is caused by roundworms Necator americanus and A duodenale.
Soil contaminated with human faeces.
Mode of transmission/Epidemiology
Hookworm transmission occurs by skin contact with infective thirdstage larvae that have the ability to penetrate through the skin,
mainly via hands, feet, arms, or legs.
Then larvae are carried through the veins to the heart and then to the
lungs. They penetrate into the pulmonary alveoli, ascend the
bronchial tree to the pharynx, and are swallowed. The larvae reach
the small intestine, where they reside and mature into adults. Adult
worms live in the lumen of the small intestine, where they attach to
the intestinal wall with resultant blood loss by the host- Anemia.
Diseases cause by Hookworms:
Hookworm disease are primarily referred to the iron-deficiency
anaemia with reduced host haemoglobin.
In children, chronic hookworm infection has been shown to
impair physical and intellectual development, reduce school
performance and attendance, and adversely affect future
productivity and wage-earning potential.
Signs and symptoms:
Easy fatigue and loss of energy
Unusually rapid heart beat, particularly with exercise
Shortness of breath and headache, particularly with exercise
Difficulty concentrating
Dizziness
Pale skin
Leg cramps
Insomnia
Preventive measures:
Educational campaigns about the proper use of latrines
Sanitary disposal of human feces
Wearing any footwear may also be useful and helpful
Treatment:
Medications like albendazole, mebendazole, and pyrantel pamoate
all are effective treatments
anti-hookworm vaccine have also used to killed the larvae in
infective larvae in stage three.
Pinworms and diseases:
Causative Agent/ Etiology
Enterobius vermicularis-roundworm.
Mode of transmission/Epidemiology
Egg transmission occurs by the fecal-oral route either directly
or indirectly via contaminated hands or fomites such as shared
toys, bedding, clothing, toilet seats, and baths.
Signs and symptoms: