Trichinosis is a parasitic disease caused by infection
with a tiny worm called Trichinella spiralis.
The human is
infested eating pork, wild boar, and sometimes horse meat, insufficiently heat
prepared.
Symptoms - appear after a few days or weeks after
ingestion of the meat: high fever, diarrhea, fatigue, pain and
cramps.
To confirm diagnosis of trichinosis blood tests and
muscle biopsy are necessary to detect larvae.
If the
infection is found in the intestinal phase, it is used the anthelmintic treatment but
for the muscles' infection is no longer
effective.
Mortality is low, infected patients being
usually asymptomatic, those with clinical symptomsgetting better in 2-3 weeks. If the
infection is severe clinical symptoms may take up to 2-3
months.
Factors affecting morbidity
include:
- the amount of larvae
ingested,
- the species to which they belong, spiralis
having the highest degree of infectivity
- the immune
status of the host
Patients die because pneumonia,
pulmonary embolism, encephalitis or heart failure with or without arrhythmias. Death
occurs at 4-8 weeks, but also in 2-3 weeks.
Children seem
to be more resistant to infection, however, their symptoms are more intense, also they
develop complications of fever and they recover more quickly.
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