Opisthorchiasis in cats is a parasitic disease. How does opisthorchiasis occur in cats?

However, not all worms are dangerous to humans; for example, hookworms live only in the body of kittens, and they will not survive in the human body. But there are a lot of other worms that are dangerous to health.

What worms can you get from a cat?

1. allergic reactions (skin rashes, itching, urticaria, discharge from the eyes);
2. disruption of the digestive tract (diarrhea, constipation).

If a cat often walks outside, owners should be attentive to its health and remember to wash their hands with soap after each contact with the animal. It is forbidden to kiss cats, bring them close to your face, or sleep in bed with them.

• they linger in the small intestine;
• damage the organ from the inside;
• provoke bleeding.

When infected with nematodes, the patient's skin becomes covered with a rash, the patient's performance decreases, and he becomes extremely irritable and hot-tempered. It is difficult to independently determine the cause of such symptoms; you need to consult a doctor and undergo a series of tests.

It happens that tapeworms settle in the small intestine; without treatment, they can grow to enormous sizes and fill the entire cavity of the affected organ. Worms live in the human body for several years, and the cat in this case is an intermediate host.

1. general weakness;
2. loss of appetite;
3. fatigue, apathy.

Animals become infected with these worms when they eat beetles, flies and other insects.

The peculiarity of tapeworms is that they give specific symptoms, which help doctors make a diagnosis in a short time.

The helminth affects the liver, disrupts its functioning, and causes:

1. stagnation of bile;
2. difficulties in the process of digesting food.

Some time after infection, cysts form in the liver; if the tumor bursts, the person dies without urgent medical attention. Treatment in this case is only surgical.

Symptoms of worms in a cat

It's another matter when cats roam freely on the street. Animals lie in the ground, dig in the sand, where they become infected with worms.

Symptoms of helminthiasis in a cat will be:

• diarrhea, constipation;
• lack of appetite;
• drowsiness, apathy, the animal does not want to play.

The danger of helminths is that after entering the host’s body, they feed on blood, tissues of internal organs, and lymph, which sooner or later leads to depletion of the patient’s vitality.

If an animal does not go to the toilet for a long time, it most likely develops intestinal obstruction, when a large number of helminths block the lumen in the intestines.

General signs of helminthic infestation: falling out dull hair, mucous, purulent discharge from the eyes, tight abdomen, unpleasant odor from the mouth.

The disease greatly affects the animal's appetite; if some cats lose their appetite, others begin to eat a lot of food without gaining weight.

How to protect yourself

To prevent the cat from getting sick and infecting other people, it needs to be given special anti-helminth medications once every 4 months, and if the pet is outdoors, it is given medications once every 3 months.

Quite effective anthelmintic drugs:

1. Prazicide;
2. Kanikquantel;
3. Drontal;
4. Profender.

If the cat was given an anthelmintic, after 2 hours she should be given an activated carbon tablet. This is necessary to prevent the animal from becoming poisoned by the drug. Additionally, the veterinarian will prescribe a number of hygiene measures.

The inside and outside of the cat litter must be treated and disinfected with household chemicals containing chlorine. It is also necessary to thoroughly wash the floor around the tray; be sure to wear rubber gloves while cleaning, since the larvae of some worms can penetrate the skin.

It is important to completely exclude from the animal’s diet:

• raw fish, meat, milk;
• tap water.

Another good way to prevent helminthic infestation is prophylactic treatment of all family members with anthelmintic medications; this measure is usually recommended twice a year.

It is a bad habit to fertilize the soil in which plants are grown with cat feces. If such vegetables and fruits are poorly washed, a person only increases the chances of becoming infected with worms. Since cat worms are quickly transmitted through soil containing animal excrement, it is better to avoid walking barefoot, especially in unknown places, and you need to carefully monitor the cleanliness of the sand in playgrounds.

In the video in this article, a veterinarian will talk about the danger of helminthic infestation in cats for humans.

What fish can you get opisthorchiasis from?

There are very few people who would refuse to try fish. And this is understandable: this product can even compete with meat in terms of taste and healthiness. But most importantly, fish contains a lot of high-quality protein, which is so necessary for the human body. But few people think about the fact that fish from the river can be very dangerous. And we are not talking about small bones that can get stuck in the esophagus, but about insidious helminths that can cause serious illness. Its name is opisthorchiasis.

• 1 Routes of entry
• 2 Which fish can be infected?
• 3 Precautions
  • 3.1 Freezing
  • 3.2 Pickling
  • 3.3 Heat treatment

Routes of entry

Contact with an infected animal or person can cause illness. For example: it is enough to hold on to the handrails in public transport after a person sick with opisthorchiasis has been holding them there, and then, without washing your hands, put candy in your mouth, wipe the corners of your lips and that’s it - there is a possibility that infection has occurred.

Once in the human body, the helminth penetrates the liver and bile ducts. It can live in this environment for up to twenty years, causing enormous damage to organs. You can verify this by looking at photos of the affected organs.

What fish can be infected?

The carp family is in first place in the risk group. This list includes:

1. Rudd.
2. Vobla.
3. Crucian carp.
4. Sinets.
5. Roach and others

River predators can also be infected. This is cheese, pike. Confirmation is provided by photographs taken in laboratories during the study. This happens where both carp and predatory fish are found in reservoirs. Of course, cases of infection of predatory fish representatives, when compared with cyprinids, are not so large-scale. But still, when eating pike, chickfish or other predatory fish, you need to be very careful. Experts recommend paying attention to proper processing of the catch before cooking. What is important is that even if a fish is not infected with opisthorchiasis, this does not guarantee that it is not a carrier of helminths of other species.

Of course, everyone who loves this product is interested in whether it is possible to become infected with opisthorchiasis by eating fish of other species? Alas, it is possible. Any freshwater fish can be infected. But this is only possible where cases of this disease have been reported, and if infected snails live in local waters.

Sturgeon and salmon can be infected, so the beloved salmon can also be a carrier of opisthorchiasis larvae.

Precautionary measures

Since it is not so easy to destroy the larvae, to eliminate them using low temperatures, you need to freeze the product for 17-21 days, but so that the temperature does not rise above 9-12 degrees. If the temperature is reduced to -28-32 degrees, then the freezing period can be much shorter, only a couple of days.

Salting

Salting fish is considered the most common preparation. You need to salt it like this: lay the fish in layers and sprinkle it generously with salt. It will take 5 to 7 days to disinfect the product. If the catch is small, for example, a kilogram, then you need to salt it in the same way, only it will take one and a half to two times more time.

Heat treatment

Eating fried or boiled fish product is also not always safe. Especially if it was prepared in large pieces. To reduce the risk, it is best to cut large individuals into small pieces and boil for at least 15-20 minutes. Frying also has some requirements: the pan must always be covered.

Residents of the northern regions love to eat stroganina. This is the name for thinly sliced ​​fresh frozen fish. Unfortunately, this dish cannot be eaten. Otherwise, the risk increases to its maximum.

To avoid getting sick, you need to properly prepare fish dishes not only for your family, but also for your pets. If this is not done and the remains of the catch are given raw to cats or dogs, they can become infected and cause an infestation for humans.

What other path can a larva take for invasion? That's right - accessories that are used for cutting. To minimize the risk, you need to use separate dishes, a knife, and a board for this. After work, everything should be doused with boiling water and stored separately from other dishes.

It's worth reading

Symptoms and treatment of opisthorchiasis in animals

• The causative agent of opisthorchiasis
• Epizootology
• Pathogenesis of the disease
• Symptoms of opisthorchiasis
• Diagnostic measures
• Treatment of helminthiasis
• Prevention of opisthorchiasis

As a rule, cases of invasion are most often observed in endemic foci, these include Western Siberia, the territories of the Volga, Dnieper, Kama, and Yenisei basins. There is a high probability of infection with opisthorchiasis in Eastern Kazakhstan, Southeast Asia, and countries of Eastern and Central Europe.

The causative agent of opisthorchiasis

These helminths are trematodes (having suckers), their sizes reach 8-12 millimeters in length and 1.5-2 millimeters in width. The posterior end of opisthorchises is rounded, while the anterior end is narrower. A distinctive feature is the presence of suckers - oral and abdominal. The oral sucker is preceded by the pharynx and esophagus. In the posterior part of the helminth’s body there are lobed testes with a seminal receptacle and an ovary. The loops of the uterus are located in the middle third of the body.

Opisthorchis eggs are pale yellow in color; one pole of the eggs has a small cap. Egg sizes can vary from 0.011 to 0.019 millimeters in width and from 0.023 to 0.034 millimeters in length.

Epizootology

The sources of opisthorchiasis infection are animals themselves and humans. How does this happen? Opisthorchises, found in the body of carnivores, secrete eggs. The eggs, along with the animal's feces, pass into the environment, ending up in water bodies, they continue their further development.

Being in a comfortable environment for them, helminth eggs can acquire their intermediate host - a freshwater mollusk. In the body of mollusks, miracidia located in the eggs leave their shell and penetrate from the intestine into the muscles of the host’s body. Within a month, the miracidia transform into sporocysts, which contain redia. When the redia are fully mature, they emerge from the sporocysts and migrate to the liver of the mollusk, where they gradually begin to transform into cercariae.

After approximately two months, the cercariae become invasive. Fish that swallow shellfish become other hosts for opisthorchis. Fish infected with opisthorchiasis belong to the carp family. Fish can even become infected with cercariae released from shellfish.

After 6 weeks of staying in the body of the fish, the cercariae pass into the stage of metacercariae, which are already capable of infecting a person or animal when eating fish. In the animal's body, opisthorchises are released from cysts, through the ducts and gall bladder they pass into the bile ducts of the liver. They reach sexual maturity in 12-14 days, and after 3-4 weeks of being in the ducts they begin to lay eggs.

Pathogenesis of the disease

Animal opisthorchiasis is a serious disease that has a pathogenic effect and causes unpleasant symptoms and consequences. When helminths stick to the walls of the bile ducts, they cause mechanical damage to the mucous membrane, just imagine how many wounds and scars can form in the animal’s body, because the number of worms in the body can be very, very significant.

Young individuals have an even greater impact, since they also injure the walls of the bile ducts with their chitinous spines. The resulting wounds are an excellent place for the development of various infections.

In addition, a large number of worms and their eggs create stagnation in the ducts, which negatively affects the outflow of bile, which begins to flow out with difficulty or not at all. Opisthorchiasis of carnivores causes severe intoxication of animals, because the waste products of helminths cause a sensitizing effect, manifested by allergic reactions and eosinophilia.

Opisthorchiasis of carnivores has pronounced symptoms, knowledge of which can determine the presence of the disease in an animal. So, what symptoms can you observe:

1. The animals look exhausted. If these are fur-bearing animals, then their fur becomes disheveled, ugly, and may fall out.
2. In animals suffering from opisthorchiasis, there is an enlargement of the abdomen - ascites.
3. Yellowness of the mucous membranes.
4. The animal may be constantly in a sad mood - sitting motionless with its head bowed. But at the sight of meat food it will perk up.
5. On palpation, an enlarged liver may be detected.
6. The animal's urine contains traces of sugar.

The above are general symptoms, but since animals of different species can become infected with opisthorchiasis, the clinical picture may have some differences.

Diagnostic measures

If symptoms and signs of helminthiasis such as opisthorchiasis are detected, the animal must be immediately shown to a veterinarian. When making an accurate diagnosis, not only the clinical picture is taken into account, but also a helminthic coprological study is carried out. The research consists of carrying out flotation methods using a solution of sodium hyposulfite, table salt and other salts.

Sodium hyposulfite is taken in an amount of 1750 g and diluted in one liter of boiling water according to the Shcherbovich method; one kilogram of sodium nitrate is also taken and diluted in one liter of water according to the Kalantaryan method. More effective is the method of Varenichev and Kotelnikov using a solution of zinc chloride (2 kilograms per liter of water).

Diagnosis of a sick animal also includes stool examination, clinical and biochemical blood tests.

Treatment of helminthiasis

Opisthorchiasis of carnivores is treatable and has a high chance of recovery, especially if therapy was started on time. Timely treatment is the most important factor; in the absence of it, the animal can even suffer death.

Treatment of opisthorchiasis is carried out using special anthelmintic medications, the most suitable are Hexichol, Praziquantel, Polytrem. The drugs are prescribed in the following dosage for dogs: 0.1-0.2 grams, for fur-bearing animals: 0.5-0.6 grams per kilogram. The medicine must be mixed with food: porridge or minced meat.

The release of the helminth from the animal’s body can take two or even four weeks. It is very important to seek veterinary help if such problems are detected. The doses presented above are approximate, but each animal has its own dosage, when prescribing which the doctor takes into account the type and breed of the animal, its age, its body weight, the presence of accompanying diseases, the form of neglect of opisthorchiasis and other factors.

Prevention of opisthorchiasis

Any disease is much easier to prevent than to treat, so preventing opisthorchiasis will never be superfluous. First of all, all pets need to undergo anthelmintic treatment with special preparations, which can be purchased at pet stores.

Secondly, it is necessary to monitor the animal’s nutrition; if the diet consists of fish, it must be properly thermally processed. Boiling fish is the most optimal way to neutralize it from opisthorchiasis; you need to cook it for at least 15-20 minutes. It can also be neutralized by freezing. Take care of yourself and those you care about!

At the moment, statistics total about 21 million people who suffer from this infectious disease throughout the planet.

The insidiousness of such a disease lies in the difficulty of timely diagnosis due to the diverse and far from specific symptoms; moreover, the disease provokes serious and often irreparable consequences.

The disease opisthorchiasis is so good at camouflaging itself that people have been treated for years by different doctors without knowing what opisthorchiasis is.

Who are opisthorchis

Opisthorchis are the so-called liver flukes; the most common representative of tapeworms is the Siberian fluke (Opisthorchis felineus). The Siberian fluke is a tapeworm with a length of 8 to 18 mm, with a width of 1.2 to 2 mm.

Two life cycles are typical for opisthorchids: first in the intermediate host - carp fish and mollusks, and only then in the final host - humans.

After 10-12 days, such larvae reach sexual maturity and lay eggs. If such eggs enter the environment, their life cycle can last no more than 8-10 days, after which death occurs.

Opisthorchiasis: what is it?

If a person eats infected fish raw, cooked with insufficient heat treatment, insufficiently fried or salted, metacercariae colonize the human organs.

Why is the disease dangerous?

Among the most complex diseases that opisthorchiasis provokes are:

• cirrhosis of the liver;
• chronic stage hepatitis;
• rotting processes in the liver;
• impairment of all liver functions;
• malignant tumors;
• development of inflammatory processes in the gastrointestinal tract;
• inflammatory processes in the bladder and pancreas.

Is the disease opisthorchiasis contagious or not?

How to avoid infection

There are a number of preventive rules that will become an obstacle to infection with opisthorchiasis:

Only by following all the rules and subtleties of preparing fish dishes can you avoid infection with opisthorchiasis.

Symptoms and treatment of opisthorchiasis in adults

• 1 Etiology and development cycle
  • 1.1 Life cycle
• 2 Epidemiology
• 3 Symptoms of infestation
  • 3.1 Acute stage
  • 3.2 Chronic stage
• 4 Diagnostics
  • 4.1 Visual inspection
  • 4.2 Blood test
  • 4.3 Stool and bile analysis
  • 4.4 Other methods
• 5 How to treat opisthorchiasis in adults?
  • 5.1 Drugs and treatment with them
  • 5.2 Treatment regimen with folk remedies
• 6 Complications
• 7 Prevention

Etiology and developmental cycle

The causative agent of opisthorchiasis is the Siberian (or cat) fluke (Opisthorchis felineus). Other names are fluke, opisthorchis. It belongs to the trematodes. Its dimensions are 18 mm long and 2 mm wide. The shape of the worms looks like a lancet. There are ventral and oral suckers. Helminths attach to internal organs using spines located on the body. It is a hermaphrodite and lays about a thousand eggs per day. It lives in the body of the final host for up to 30 years. The life cycle of opisthorchis looks as described below.

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Life cycle

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Epidemiology

Opisthorchiasis refers to biohelminthiasis - diseases that are transmitted to humans from animals. In addition to people, the final hosts are domestic and wild animals that eat fish: cats, dogs, bears, seals, foxes. Most often, the focus of opisthorchiasis is observed in the population living along the mouths of the Dnieper, Kama, Volga rivers, in the Ob-Irtysh basin in Western Siberia and the Eastern part of Kazakhstan. In humans, the route of transmission of infection is through the consumption of fish of the carp family - carp, bream, dace. If the fish is prepared in violation of food technology (this applies to dried, raw, frozen, lightly salted fish), then infection is guaranteed. It is most widespread among residents of Russia, much less so in Ukraine, the Baltic countries and Europe.

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Symptoms of infestation

Acute stage

Nausea with vomiting and general weakness may indicate infection.

At this stage, allergic and toxic reactions appear. From the moment of infection, the incubation period lasts approximately 21 days. At this stage, mild, moderate and severe phases of the disease are distinguished. Mild is characterized by an increase in temperature to 38 degrees, fatigue, and a painful stomach. The middle phase includes fever (lasts up to 3 weeks), muscle and joint pain, bronchial manifestations, and vomiting. The spleen and liver may become enlarged. The severe phase is manifested by a temperature of up to 39.5 degrees, a profuse rash on the skin, insomnia, and emotional disturbances. In general, at the acute stage, the manifestation of opisthorchiasis is as follows:

• enlargement of organs (liver, spleen, pancreas, lymph nodes);
• dyspepsia;
• rash due to opisthorchiasis;
• temperature increase;
• weakness, fatigue;
• painful stomach;
• vomiting and nausea;
• aches muscles and joints.

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Chronic stage

• brain damage (weakness, tremors of the limbs, fatigue);
• allergic spots;
• temperature increase;
• weight loss;
• dyspepsia;
• cardiac dysfunction;
• muscle and joint pain;
• constant abdominal pain.

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Diagnostics

Visual inspection

Diagnosis of opisthorchiasis is possible using palpation.

In the chronic stage, the disease is erased by symptoms of organ damage. Signs of opisthorchiasis can manifest as stomach and liver ailments. Visual diagnosis is facilitated by the presence of Paltsev's symptom. It is characterized by swelling of the eyelids, painful cracks in the tongue, and yellowish or white rashes.

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Blood analysis

General, biochemical and immunobiological blood tests are performed. In a general analysis, in the presence of opisthorchiasis, an increase in white blood cells and eosinophils is observed. Increased values ​​in the biochemical study of bilirubin, ALT, AST, amylase, thymol and suleymic tests may indicate helminthic infestation. Immunological tests do not always give an accurate result. Specific antibodies to opisthorchiasis (IgM) can be determined in the acute phase of the disease. In chronic cases, opisthorchid-specific IgG (IgG) is detected.

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Stool and bile analysis

A popular method of diagnosing the disease using stool.

A key method for diagnosing the chronic course of invasion. Opisthorchiasis eggs in feces can be detected 1 or 2 months after infection. Using duodenal intubation, you can obtain bile, which is collected in several portions. After carrying out certain manipulations with the biomaterial, you can say for sure whether worms are detected or not.

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Other methods

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How to treat opisthorchiasis in adults?

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Drugs and their treatment

Deworming includes antihistamines and anti-inflammatory drugs, then anthelmintics. In case of severe organ damage, restorative therapy is prescribed. Usually, antitistamine drugs (Tavegil, Suprastin), choleretic drugs (Allohol), sorbents (activated carbon), and enzyme drugs (Mezim, Pancreatin) are used first. Then you should take anthelmintic drugs (Biltricid, Praziquantel, Chloxil). Rehabilitation and restoration of affected organs will be better when taking vitamins, enzyme preparations (Creon, Pancreatin), hepatoprotectors (Galstena). Only a doctor prescribes the dosage; self-medication is dangerous.

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Treatment regimen with folk remedies

Drug treatment can be combined with folk remedies, but only after consultation with a doctor. There are several recipes that produce opisthorchis. For example, a decoction of aspen bark. You need to take 5 tablespoons of bark, add half a liter of water, cook over low heat, strain and let cool. Take a tablespoon for 3 weeks (brew the decoction every 3 days). The herb St. John's wort will also help. To do this, pour 2 teaspoons of boiling water, leave for half an hour and strain. The course of treatment lasts until the signs of the disease disappear and the body recovers. You can take the herbal infusion for a month. It contains pumpkin seeds, thyme, St. John's wort, tansy, clover, and wormwood. Drink before meals 3 times a day.

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Complications

Chronic or advanced opisthorchiasis is fraught with serious complications. First of all, diseases develop in the liver, pancreas, and bile ducts. The most common are cholecystocholangitis (damage to the liver parenchyma, biliary tract), cholecystitis, bile peritonitis, in which bile leaks into the abdominal cavity, and oncological diseases (cholangiocarcinoma). Some of these complications are deadly. The consequences can manifest themselves in the form of arthritis or arthrosis, psoriasis, damage to the central nervous system, and a number of changes in the blood (anemia, eosinophilia, leukocytosis). If doubtful symptoms similar to infestations (and opisthorchiasis as well) occur, you should immediately consult a doctor.

Infection of helminthiasis in animals and humans occurs when they eat contaminated, unheated fish.

The family Opisthorchiidae contains about 30 genera. Representatives of this systematic group affect the bile ducts, gallbladder and liver and pancreatic ducts of mammals and birds.

The question “what is it” in relation to opisthorchiasis can be answered as follows. This disease is caused in humans by two species of the genus Opisthorchis - O.

felineus (cat fluke or Siberian fluke) and O. viverrini (squirrel fluke).

Opisthorchiasis is common in Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and a number of countries in Southeast Asia.

Cat fluke

Life cycle of the cat fluke

The life cycle of the cat fluke takes from 4 to 6 months. During this time, the helminth changes intermediate hosts and grows from the initial state of the egg, reaching the final form - marita.

The eggs of the cat fluke are located in fresh water bodies, from where they enter the body of snails. These snails become the initial hosts of the worm, in whose digestive systems the eggs open and infect the hosts’ organs.

Then comes the second stage of development, characterized by the appearance of embryonic cells that actively multiply and produce cercariae. Then the larvae emerge from their hosts and easily move through bodies of water with the help of a tail appendage, looking for new hosts.

The second intermediate host of the cat fluke is a fish of the carp family, into which the worms enter freely through the gills. In fish, the cat fluke continues its growth and enters a new stage, in the process losing its tail and acquiring a capsule-like shell.

During its development, the liver fluke changes several intermediate hosts and goes through certain stages.

As a rule, cases of invasion are most often observed in endemic foci, these include Western Siberia, the territories of the Volga, Dnieper, Kama, and Yenisei basins. There is a high probability of infection with opisthorchiasis in Eastern Kazakhstan, Southeast Asia, and countries of Eastern and Central Europe.

The causative agent of opisthorchiasis

When a pet meets its owner, it can rub against its legs, and the helminth eggs transfer to the animal’s fur. From the cat's fur they are transferred into his body through the oral cavity. To protect your pet from this, you should wet clean the room more often using antibacterial agents.

What types of worms that infect cats are there?

There are several types of helminthiasis in cats, which are classified by experts depending on the type of worm that caused the helminthiasis in the cat.

Not only people are susceptible to worms; animals, including pets, are more susceptible to helminthiasis. At the same time, infection of domestic animals occurs even if they do not go outside and do not come into contact with other individuals of their kind. The article discusses the types of worms in cats.

• Types of helminths in cats
• Roundworms
• Tapeworms
• Flat flukes
• General symptoms of helminthiasis
• Treatment and prevention

How to properly deworm an adult cat?

It must be remembered that anthelmintic drugs for cats and kittens are different and have different methods of administration. For cats, veterinary pharmacies sell tablets for one-time use or solutions that are applied to the withers.

In order to begin drug treatment, it is necessary to conduct a competent diagnosis that will help determine the presence of helminths in the body. Infection with opisthorchiasis infection occurs due to eating sushi with river fish of the carp family, dried fish, lightly salted and smoked.

Opisthorchis are especially resilient, so when preparing river fish, you need to take care of good heat treatment: fry and boil the fish for at least 20 minutes. This is the only way to prevent helminth infection.

Opisthorchiasis can manifest itself in acute and chronic forms, each of which carries its own danger to the body.

Dynamics of the chronic form:

1. Pathological damage is accompanied by blockage of the bile ducts and impaired circulation of biological fluid.
2. Damage to the nervous system is manifested by tremors of the limbs, neuroses, irritability, sleep disturbances, and weakness.
3. Skin allergies that cannot be treated can include regular rashes of watery herpes blisters, itchy hives, or psoriasis.
4. From the respiratory system, bronchial asthma or bronchitis may develop.
5. Joint pain syndromes are constantly present. Against the background of opisthorchiasis, arthritis or arthrosis may develop.
6. The gastrointestinal tract is the most vulnerable, and in the chronic course, diseases such as pancreatitis, liver cirrhosis, cholecystitis, and bile duct oncology develop.

Based on the results obtained and the degree of damage to internal organs, a specific treatment regimen for opisthorchiasis is prescribed.

Prescription of therapy for opisthorchiasis

Treatment of opisthorchiasis infestation must be carried out necessarily, since infection with the liver fluke can cause serious consequences for the body and will require long-term treatment.

When prescribing a treatment regimen, the specialist examines the obtained tests, takes into account the severity of the disease, and concomitant diseases. The individual characteristics of the body, the patient’s age and other factors must be taken into account.

Therapy for opisthorchiasis is divided into three stages, each of which plays its own role in successful healing. Patients need to understand that they should not deviate from the prescribed treatment regimen, as there is a risk of ineffective treatment.

How and with what to treat opisthorchiasis in adults is determined only by the attending physician, after the conclusion of such specialists as an infectious disease specialist, an allergist, a gastroenterologist and a hepatologist.

Symptoms of opisthorchiasis

With a small infestation, helminthiasis may not manifest itself with clinical signs.

During its development, the cat experiences exhaustion, tousled fur, yellowness of the mucous membranes and skin, gastrointestinal upset (diarrhea, constipation, vomiting, dehydration), and sometimes an enlarged abdomen (ascites). When palpated, the liver area is painful, the organ itself is enlarged and compacted, its surface is bumpy.

The symptoms of this disease differ depending on the form in which it occurs. It can be chronic or acute.

When chronic, symptoms may be completely absent or appear periodically. And since they are nonspecific, during differential diagnosis they can sometimes be confused by veterinarians with the symptoms of gastritis, duodenitis or cholecystitis.

In acute cases, the disease is easier to diagnose, although in this case the symptoms are nonspecific. Signs such as:

1. Decreased appetite (in some cases);
2. Exhaustion even with normal appetite;
3. The coat is tousled, flaky, dull, and looks bad;
4. The skin and mucous membranes in the mouth are jaundiced due to the liver being affected;
5. Permanent or recurrent gastrointestinal disorder (constipation, diarrhea, vomiting, dehydration);
6. Bloating;
7. The liver is enlarged and compacted, its surface is lumpy, and pain is noted on palpation.

The presence of certain symptoms of worm disease may vary depending on the degree of helminth damage to the cat, in other words, on the number of worms in the body. With weak invasion (infestation), signs of the disease may be absent altogether. You can note the main symptoms that may indirectly indicate a possible cat infection with worms:

• depression, poor or perverted appetite, weight loss, fatigue, if this is a kitten, then retardation in growth and development;
• ruffled fur;
• the presence of yellowness of the mucous membranes and enlargement of the liver (with trematodes) or their anemia (with cestodes);
• indigestion (constipation followed by diarrhea, and vice versa, vomiting);
• a cough may appear periodically (this occurs during the migration of roundworm larvae throughout the body);
• discharge from the eyes;
• itching in the anal area;
• in severe cases, symptoms of body intoxication may appear: convulsions, leg paresis, etc.;
• miscarriage or premature birth;
• the presence of blood and mucus in the cat’s feces.

The Siberian fluke can cause different symptoms, depending on the duration of infection and the form (acute or chronic). In the acute course of the disease, the appearance of characteristic symptoms is observed only a few weeks after the helminth eggs enter the body.

The patient begins to worry about increased body temperature, dizziness, general weakness and malaise, and joint pain.

The concentration of the helminth is observed in the gall bladder, pancreas and liver. The liver fluke is small in size - about 2 centimeters, however, it can cause the development of opisthorchiasis and remain in the body for more than 20 years.

Symptoms in humans

• increased body temperature;
• allergies;
• rashes on the skin;
• pain and aching in the joints;
• pain in the right hypochondrium;
• nausea;
• gagging;
• diarrhea;
• heartburn;
• decreased appetite;
• impaired lung function;
• increase in the size of the liver and gall bladder;
• ulcers

Characteristics of opisthorchiasis

Opisthorchids live and reproduce in cats, dogs, muskrats, foxes, otters, and minks in the following organs:

• Liver,
• bile ducts,
• Pancreas.

Opisthorchiasis larvae with eggs enter the external environment, then they develop in fresh water in the organisms of rudd, tench, ide and bream. Human infection can occur if you eat insufficiently processed or raw fish.

Causes of opisthorchiasis

Opisthorchiasis should be distinguished from various liver diseases (cholecystitis, pancreatitis, hepatitis), toxoplasmosis, viral peritonitis, etc., since their symptoms are similar.

When diagnosing opisthorchiasis, the doctor relies on anamnesis - information from the owner (for example, about feeding the pet raw fish), on the result of the examination and clinical signs.

In extreme cases, opisthorchises are found during autopsy in the liver of a dead animal. As always, an autopsy will reveal...

In order to make an accurate diagnosis of the presence of helminths in the body, it is necessary to conduct a scatological examination of feces (stool analysis) to determine the presence of helminth eggs. It is not always possible to detect the presence of eggs in a cat’s feces the first time; this is due to the period of development of the worm.

If the animal has recently become infected, then the body contains immature individuals that have not yet released eggs, so the test results may be false negative. To avoid this situation, you need to donate feces at least 3-4 times a month.

The main way to diagnose feline fluke in both humans and animals is to analyze stool, which shows the presence of helminth eggs in it. The method has a significant drawback - it is impossible to detect fluke damage at the initial stage, since flatworms migrate for about a month.

The stage of disease severity is conventionally determined based on the concentration of fluke eggs per gram of feces. In cases where there are less than 100 eggs, we can talk about a mild course of the disease, but if there are more than 30 thousand eggs, the disease is severe.

The presence of helminths is also determined using ultrasound, computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging. Nowadays, the presence of fluke is diagnosed in the early stages, often using a molecular blood test.

This allows you to identify helminths after just a few days of their presence in the body and begin timely treatment, without waiting for the moment when they stick to the walls of the liver.

(as well as humans) occurs when eating raw or insufficiently processed fish infested with opisthorchis larvae.

As a rule, fish of the carp family are susceptible to infection: carp, crucian carp, ide, dace, chebak, roach, tench, bream, etc.

In Russia, opisthorchiasis (pathogen - O.felineus) is distributed mainly in Siberia, in the basins of the Ob, Irtysh, Volga, Kama, and Dnieper rivers. There is evidence of the presence of low-intensity foci on the tributaries of the Yenisei rivers, in the basin of the Ural and Northern Dvina rivers.

Opisthorchises have a flat, elongated body with an oral sucker. An adult opisthorchis measures 5-10x1-2 mm.

The opisthorchis development cycle includes several groups of hosts: the definitive hosts are carnivores (dogs, cats), humans; intermediate - the freshwater mollusk Bitinia and additional - from the carp family.

An important link in the development cycle of O.felineus is the entry of helminth eggs excreted with the feces of sick animals and humans into fresh water bodies in which prosobranch mollusks of the genus Bithynia are ingested. In the body of these intermediate hosts, the larvae of the helminth miracidia (the first larval stage) appear from the eggs, which in 2 months go through several stages of development, including reproduction, and turn into cercariae. Cercariae, which have a tail as an organ of movement, enter the water and actively invade the body of freshwater cyprinid fish. In the muscles of this additional host, the cercariae develop into further metacercariae larvae, covered with a protective membrane. When eating insufficiently processed fish, metacercariae enter the gastrointestinal tract of the definitive hosts and the development cycle repeats again, or rather closes. As a rule, the development cycle of opisthorchiasis from egg to sexually mature form lasts 4-4.5 months.

Clinical manifestations of opisthorchiasis have a varied picture with the absence of pathognomonic symptoms that allow an accurate and timely diagnosis. They range from asymptomatic invasion to severe disease caused by the development of purulent cholangitis, liver abscess, cholecystitis, pancreatitis, gallstones, and liver tumors. Sick animals experience lethargy, depression, decreased appetite, general exhaustion, and a disorder of the digestive tract, expressed in alternating and. The liver is enlarged, there is a slight yellowness of the sclera, mucous membranes and skin. The duration of the disease in cats can range from several months to 2-3 years.

Diagnosis of opisthorchiasis in animals(and humans) according to the clinical picture of the disease is difficult due to the lack of symptoms and syndromes characteristic only of this disease. To accurately diagnose the disease, an integrated approach using various methods is required. The clinical manifestations of opisthorchiasis are diverse and depend both on the duration and intensity of the invasion, and on the individual characteristics of the organism.

If symptoms appear in an animal, it is necessary to consult a doctor as soon as possible and measure body temperature to exclude infectious diseases (with opisthorchiasis, it usually does not change). The veterinary clinic will prescribe the necessary research methods (blood tests - clinical and biochemical), as well as a mandatory fecal analysis for coprovosocpy.

Treatment consists of the use of anthelmintic drugs: praziquantel, Gelmostop, albendazole, as well as symptomatic therapy, up to intravenous drip infusions in case of prolonged refusal to feed the sick animal and severe intoxication of the body.

Prevention is to prohibit feeding raw or poorly processed fish to animals. It should be remembered that with proper processing and storage of fish products and fish, it is possible to avoid opisthorchis infestation. When freezing fish at a temperature of -2...-13 °C, opisthorchis larvae die completely after 24 days, at a temperature of -30 °C - after 5 hours.

Helminths are also killed by thoroughly drying dried fish and vacuum drying minced fish.

- a disease that can affect any warm-blooded organism. It is caused by the feline or parasite, which, upon entering the body, causes damage to the liver and bile ducts. It must be treated promptly as it can cause serious consequences to the body. It affects both people and cats and dogs. Opisthorchiasis in cats is quite common.

Symptoms

The symptoms of this disease differ depending on the form in which it occurs. It can be chronic or acute. When chronic, symptoms may be completely absent or appear periodically. And since they are nonspecific, during differential diagnosis they can sometimes be confused by veterinarians with the symptoms of gastritis, duodenitis or cholecystitis.

In acute cases, the disease is easier to diagnose, although in this case the symptoms are nonspecific. Signs such as:

1. Decreased appetite (in some cases);
2. Exhaustion even with normal appetite;
3. The coat is tousled, flaky, dull, and looks bad;
4. The skin and mucous membranes in the mouth are jaundiced due to the liver being affected;
5. Permanent or recurrent gastrointestinal disorder (constipation, diarrhea, vomiting, dehydration);
6. Bloating;
7. The liver is enlarged and compacted, its surface is lumpy, and pain is noted on palpation.

At the same time, with a minor infection, for example, in cases where it is suppressed by the immune system (partially or almost completely), no clinical signs appear. But self-healing cannot occur; specific drug treatment with veterinary drugs is necessary.

Diagnostics

For this reason, the most effective method is enzyme immunoassay. It is aimed at determining the presence in the animal’s body of specific immunoglobulins - antibodies that are produced when the body is infected with helminths. Since they are specific not only to the species, but also to the strain of invasion, thanks to these data it is possible to select the most effective treatment. This study is quite complex. It is almost never prescribed and is not performed in all clinics. For this reason, most often, doctors prescribe treatment with broad-spectrum drugs.

There are also nonspecific studies for invasion - a general blood test and its biochemistry. They give an indirect idea of ​​the functioning of internal organs and the presence of an inflammatory process in the body. In this case, anamnesis plays an important role in diagnosis (for example, is the cat fed raw fish).

Treatment

Treatment is carried out in several stages. It is quite complex, so it is carried out under the supervision of a doctor.

Therapy for the disease is quite complex, so it must be carried out under the supervision of a veterinarian. Self-medication may be ineffective and threatens the disease to become chronic. This can lead to the development of liver and gallbladder damage and a significant deterioration in the animal’s condition over time.