2023-04-20 21:45:40
An X-ray exam posted by general practitioner Vitor Borin caught the attention of Twitter users by showing the image of a chest full of tapeworm larvae, parasites that can be contracted from eating food that contains their eggs.
According to the doctor, the patient was diagnosed with disseminated cystocerciasis after complaining of coughing for two months.
Parasitologist Ricardo Fujiwara, vice president of SPB (Brazilian Society of Parasitology) explains that cysticercosis is a parasitic disease caused by larvae of Tape soles (tapeworms), known as cysticerci, in humans.
Such cysticerci are housed in the body, with a preference for the CNS (Central Nervous System) and, in some cases, can be housed in the muscles (as in the case of the photo), in subcutaneous tissues, eyes or heart.
The parasitosis is contracted from eating fruits, vegetables and even meat that may be contaminated with tapeworm eggs.
“Cysticercosis by Tape soles it is much more common in pigs, and humans are an accidental host. This infection occurs when an infected human or animal evacuates the eggs through the feces, polluting the environment and, consequently, contaminating soil and food”, says the parasitologist.
This situation is favored by the lack of adequate basic sanitation, still present in many regions of the country.
“The image is as shocking for us, professionals, as for society in general. We can see that there was an ingestion of a very large number of cysticerci and with a very large dissemination”, says the parasitologist.
He clarifies that taeniasis is only developed by the tapeworm coming from pigs. The bovine tapeworm (Taenia saginata) is not capable of causing the condition.
Fujiwara alleges that disseminated cysticercosis is a condition in which there are many points of parasites, as in the image, and that this type of diagnosis is not considered common.
Among the symptoms, in this case, because they are larvae, they usually excrete antigens, which can cause itching and local allergy. However, with time, given the impossibility of the parasite leaving the body, it dies and calcifies.
“Cases like this, in which the accommodation is in the muscle, there may be a feeling of pain and cramps throughout the body and, after being calcified, cysts form and go unnoticed. On the other hand, when the accommodation occurs in other areas, such as the brain, there may be tissue death, causing convulsions, or bring about cardiac alterations, if installed in the heart”, reports the parasitologist.
Lina Paola, infectologist at BP – A Beneficência Portuguesa de São Paulo, explains that the diagnosis of parasitic infections is commonly carried out based on clinical suspicion, according to patient complaints, which can range from stomach and intestinal ailments to neurological symptoms. , if the parasite settles in the brain, and is confirmed by means of parasitological examination of feces.
The infectologist says that other parasites can be contracted by consuming contaminated food and water. Among them are:
would ascaridize: caused by the worm Ascaris lumbricoideswhich can be transmitted by ingestion of water or food contaminated with parasite eggs;
Giardiasis: caused by the protozoan Giardia lambliawhich can be contracted through ingestion of contaminated water or food;
Taeniasis: caused by the worm Taenia saginatawhich can be acquired by eating undercooked or raw beef;
amoebiasis: caused by amoeba Entamoeba histolytica that it can be transmitted by ingestion of food and water contaminated with parasite cysts;
Schistosomiasis: caused by the worm Schistosoma mansoni which can be acquired by direct contact with water.
The treatment of parasitosis requires guidance from a doctor based on the diagnosis, usually found in the SUS (Unified Health System), as informed by the parasitologist.
For cysticercosis, in addition to antiparasitic treatment, medical follow-up is necessary to check for any secondary damage caused by the larva.
“Most parasites end up dying with the use of drugs and, in sequence, are expelled through the feces. In cysticercosis, the dead parasite is calcified and forms local cysts”, explains Fujiwara.
To avoid parasites, in general, Fujiwara says that a set of actions is necessary. The ideal, according to the doctor, is the identification of infected people through fecal examinations and appropriate treatment, which would already reduce the supply of parasitic eggs in the environment.
Another point highlighted is the improvement of the sanitary infrastructure in the country, in which the waste has the correct destination and the sewage is properly treated so that the eggs are chemically destroyed.
He points out that it is also important that the vegetables are watered with treated water by the farmers, and that consumers wash the food thoroughly under running water, in addition to soaking it with specific products to eliminate any microorganisms.
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