Filariasis : Lymphatic filariasis is infection with the filarial worms, Wuchereria bancrofti, Brugia malayi or B. timori. These parasites are transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected mosquito and develop into adult worms in the lymphatic vessels, causing severe damage and swelling (lymphoedema). Elephantiasis – painful, disfiguring swelling of the legs and genital organs – is a classic sign of late-stage disease.
The infection can be treated with drugs. However, chronic conditions may not be curable by anti-filarial drugs and require other measures, eg. surgery for hydrocele, care of the skin and exercise to increase lymphatic drainage in lymphoedema.
Drugs used
Drugs combination of either diethyl-carbamazine citrate (DEC) and albendazole, or ivermectin and albendazole
Tapeworm infection : Tapeworm infection is caused by ingesting food or water contaminated with tapeworm eggs or larvae. If you ingest certain tapeworm eggs, they can migrate outside your intestines and form larval cysts in body tissues and organs (invasive infection). If you ingest tapeworm larvae, however, they develop into adult tapeworms in your intestines (intestinal infection).
An adult tapeworm consists of a head, neck and chain of segments called proglottids. When you have an intestinal tapeworm infection, the tapeworm head adheres to the intestine wall, and the proglottids grow and produce eggs. Adult tapeworms can live for up to 20 years in a host. Intestinal tapeworm infections are usually mild, but invasive larval infections can cause serious complications.
SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS
Signs and symptoms of intestinal infection include:
• Nausea
• Weakness
• Loss of appetite
• Abdominal pain
• Diarrhea
• Weight loss and inadequate absorption of nutrients from food
Treatments for intestinal infections
The most common treatment for tapeworm infection involves oral medications that are toxic to the adult tapeworm, including:
• Praziquantel (Biltricide)
• Albendazole (Albenza)
• Nitazoxanide (Alinia)
Treatments for invasive infections
Treating an invasive infection depends on the location and effects of the infection.
• Anthelmintic drugs. Albendazole (Albenza) can shrink some tapeworm cysts.
• Anti-inflammatory therapy. Dying tapeworm cysts can cause swelling or inflammation in tissues or organs such as prednisone or dexamethasone, to reduce inflammation.
• Anti-epileptic therapy. If the disease is causing seizures, anti-epileptic medications can stop them.
• Shunt placement. One type of invasive infection can cause too much fluid on the brain, called hydrocephalus.
• Surgery. Whether cysts can be removed surgically depends on their location and symptoms. Cysts that develop in the liver, lungs and eyes are typically removed, since they can eventually threaten organ function.
Ascariasis : Ascariasis is a disease caused by the parasitic roundworm Ascaris lumbricoides. Infections have no symptoms in more than 85% of cases, especially if the number of worms is small. Symptoms increase with the number of worms present. Children are most commonly affected, and in this age group the infection may also cause poor weight gain, malnutrition and learning problems. Symptoms may include shortness of breath and fever in the beginning of the disease. These may be followed by symptoms like abdominal swelling, abdominal pain and diarrhea.
Infection occurs by eating food or drink contaminated with Ascaris eggs from feces. The eggs hatch in the intestines, burrow through the gut wall, and migrate to the lungs via the blood. There they break into the alveoli and pass up the trachea, where they are coughed up and swallowed. The larvae then pass through the stomach for a second time into the intestine where they become adult worms.