Lecture 3B - Worms Flashcards
What are worms?
highly developed multicellular organisms which generally replicate outside of the human host (through the shedding of eggs typically in faeces)
What do worms that are parasitic in humans lead to?
great suffering on a global scale because they are hard to treat
Classes of worms?
roundworms (4,500 million infections globally)
tapeworms (175 million)
trematodes (250 million)
What do worms rely on the body for?
nutrition of the parasite at early stages of its life cycle
Where does the ascaris roundworm have an adult stage?
in the gut, which can shed eggs into the faeces
What happens to the ascaris worm eggs outside the gut?
they are fertilised and the embryonic form of the parasite is reingested
Where do the larvae of the ascaris worm go?
they hatch from the eggs inside the gut, they break through the gut wall and migrate through the blood stream to the lungs
What happens to the larvae once in the lungs?
the developing larvae are coughed up and swallowed, gain to reinfect the gut and grow to adult hood
Why do worms go to the lungs?
because of the very fine capillaries
they go via the hepatic portal vein because the blood from the gut goes there
What are roundworms known as?
nematodes
Intestinal nematodes?
often cause diarrhoea, itch and anaemia
How are intestinal nematodes acquired?
orally or through skin, transmitted by faeces
Strongyloids?
threadworm - can migrate to lungs
Trichuris?
whipworm - transmitted via the soil, if human faeces is used asa fertiliser and food isnt cleaned
Ascaris?
roundworm
migrates to liver, heart, lung and back to gut
some patients carry 1000+ worms, females worms can lay 200,000 eggs daily
Enterobius?
pinworm
Necator and ancylostoma?
hookworms - larvae can penetrate bare feet
Trichostrongylus?
mild intestinal symptoms but very common
Extraintestinal nematodes?
trichinella (trichinosis) and dracunulus (guinea worm)
Trichinella?
present in infectedmear, cysts in muscle
Dracunculus?
can grow up to one metre long in the skin
Larva migrans?
disease eruption can occur in a variety of tissues when invaded by larvae of roundworms