Balantidia

Among the parasites living in man, there are many different species. One of them includes balantidia, which live in the large intestine of the human body. They belong to the group of infusorians and are also found in the organisms of some mammals. Pigs, rats, and also dogs are the same carriers of balantidium as humans.

This type of protozoa causes in the organism of its "master" a disease called balantidiasis or infusor dysentery. At the same time, balantidia still belong to the only type of infusoria-parasites that are proven to live in man. The discoverer of the species was the Swedish scientist Malmsten, who described balantidia in 1857. But the parasitic influence of these infusorians on humans was revealed by the scientist N.S. Solovyov in 1901.

With the progress of modern medicine, nevertheless, balantidiasis is revealed in rather rare cases. Although approximately 4-5 percent of rural residents are considered carriers of the disease. Most often among such potential patients there are people who, by their kind of activity, take care of pigs. Pigs are natural carriers of balantidium and can infect humans with close contact. The infection of a person from a person occurs through the contact of a healthy person with the patient.

At present, the following specialists are engaged in the detection and treatment of diseases caused by balantidia: parasitologists and infectious disease. At the same time, it is very important not only to diagnose parasitic infection in time, but also to begin its therapy at the appropriate time. Equally important are measures to prevent infections balantidia, which consist in the constant use of hygiene measures in dealing with pigs. To eliminate the mass distribution of parasitic diseases, it is necessary to carry out actions of detection and therapy of carriers of balantidium and patients with balantiaz.

[1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6]

Structure of balantidium

Balantidia belong to the type of protozoa and the class of cilia due to the cilia, which cover the whole body of the infusoria. In addition, this type of ciliates is considered to be the largest species of the simplest of those that live in the human large intestine.

The structure of balantidium is as follows: the vegetative form of the cell differs in size from fifty to eighty microns by thirty five to sixty microns. At the same time, the body of the infusoria is elongated, most often like an egg. The length of balantidium reaches from thirty to one hundred and fifty microns, and in width from twenty to one hundred and ten microns.

The shape of this type of ciliates is ovoid, and the surface of the protozoal is covered with a pellicle. There are a lot of cilia of a short length on the pellicle, which are arranged longitudinally in a large number of rows. These cilia belong to the organoids of movement, which help the ciliate to move. In this infusoria can not only actively move, but also in this case describe the rotation around its axis.

Pelliculum balantidium is elastic, especially when it moves, so the symmetry of the body of the infusoria during movement may be impaired. Under the pellicle, a thin layer of transparent alveolar ectoplasm is located.

At the anterior end of the infusoria, a sagging cavity can be found, which is called a cirrus. At the bottom of the hollow there is a mouth opening, called a "knife". The structure of the nuclear apparatus of balantidium differs in no way from other infusorians and is represented by the macronucleus and microkernel. The nucleus-the so-called macronucleus-can be seen in some living individuals through the body shells. It resembles a light vesicle, which has a bean-like shape.

In the cytoplasm of the simplest are digestive and pulsating vacuoles in an amount of two pieces. Pulsating vacuoles are excretory and through them the products of vital activity of the infusoria are extracted.

The nutrition of the parasite is due to absorption of food particles, for example, starch grains. Also suitable and uniform elements of blood - red blood cells and so on. In addition, the food of balantidium is a variety of bacteria and fungi. Assimilation of nutrients is carried out in the contractile (pulsating) and digestive vacuoles, where all the elements suitable for this purpose fall.

The cyst is round in shape, and in diameter - from fifty to seventy microns. In doing so, it is covered with a thick shell. The cytoplasm inside the cyst is homogeneous.

Infuzoria balantidium

Among the parasitic protozoa living in man, infusoria balantidium is considered the largest species. Most often this type of infusorians affects people living in the southern regions of the globe and especially where pig production is widespread. Although, it is known that in sporadic forms these protozoa are identified wherever pigs are bred.

It is very important to follow preventive measures so as not to catch balantidiasis caused by balantidia. The rules of personal hygiene should be relevant, especially when working with pigs. At the same time, it is no less important to use pure water for drinking, cooking and washing dishes, which has been cleaned using modern methods. It is also important to use as food only clean and well-washed food, vegetables and fruits, stored in compliance with all sanitary conditions.

The intestinal balotidia

This species of protozoa lives exclusively in the human intestine. In the same place, he causes various lesions of the mucous membranes of the colon. Therefore, in some cases this type of infusoria is called "balantidium celiac". This name is common folk and occurs in the everyday life of people who are not related to medicine.

The intestinal balantidium is the same infusoria that was described earlier, only named differently. Therefore, in order to learn more about the structure of the simplest, and also the features of its life activity, we recommend that you refer to the previous sections of the article.

Life cycle of balantidium

Like any other type of infusoria, balantidia in their existence have a certain cyclicity. The life cycle of balantidium consists of sexual and asexual phases. The sexual phase is also divided into sexual reproduction: conjugation, characterized by exchange of nuclei between two representatives of balantidium and asexual reproduction, which is expressed in the transverse division of infusorians.

When the period of sexual reproduction ends, this kind of protozoa turns into cyst and in this form, more often than not, leaves the human body and is released into the environment together with feces. Cysts have no cilia, and she herself is covered with a shell consisting of two layers. Such cysts can long be viable, and not being in a living organism. In fecal masses, if the room temperature, cysts can persist for up to thirty hours. Being in tap water and sewage increases the viability of cysts to a week.

If balantidium cysts fall on any objects from the environment, they can persist for up to two months. The main condition for their viability - the temperature of the atmosphere should be approximated to room temperature, and humidity - increased. In dry and dark places, cysts persist for up to two weeks.

In some solutions, it is possible to keep balanticide cysts, but only for a very long time. For example, a 5% aqueous solution of carbolic acid can help to prolong the viability of cysts only for three hours, and formalin solution - for four hours. There is an opportunity to cultivate cyst balantidium in different nutrient medium, which is organized for them in a laboratory.

Diseases that cause balantidia

The main disease, which begins to suffer a person due to infection with balantidia, is called balantidiasis. This is a kind of parasitic disease, characterized by lesions of the mucous membrane of the large intestine, arising in the form of ulcers. Sometimes balantidia conduct their vital activity not only in the large intestine, but also in the distal part of the small intestine. Initially, infusoria are introduced into the intestinal epithelium, and then begin to actively multiply in it. Such vital activity of the protozoa causes inflammatory-ulcerative process in the intestine. The disease is characterized by severe symptoms and high mortality of patients with untimely treatment.

Symptoms of balantidiasis include:

• the presence of diarrhea,
• the appearance of pain in the abdomen,
• occurrence of the general intoxication of an organism,
• the appearance of vomiting,
• occurrence of headaches,
• presence of mucus and blood in the stools of the patient.

By the nature of the course balantidiasis is divided into subclinical or latent (carrier of cysts), acute and chronic, having a recurrent nature. The most common is a chronic disease. Of the forms of the disease, the most common are medium and heavy. Also, there are also types of diseases that are combined with other parasitic infections - amoebiasis, shigellosis and so on.

The duration of the incubation period for balantidiasis is ten to fifteen days. However, there are cases when the incubation period ranged from five to thirty days.

Both acute and chronic balantidiasis proceed as follows. The patient can develop one of the forms of the disease:

• balantid dysentery, in which there is a fetid blood-red diarrhea,
• balantid colitis, manifested in the form of semiliquid stools, which have mucus impurities, but with no blood inclusions.

Balotid dysentery in acute form, in which the patient did not receive timely specific treatment, leads to frequent deaths.

If balantidiasis is not complicated by another bacterial infection, then in this case, especially in acute stages of the disease, the patient does not have elevated body temperature. Also, the disease is not characterized by complications in which other organs of the human body are affected.

The nature of the course of the disease in its acute form is as follows. Symptoms of the disease resemble manifestations of enterocolitis or colitis. In this case, patients begin to feel a general intoxication of the body: the appearance of weakness and headache, a decrease in appetite. In half of cases, acute balantidiasis is accompanied by moderate manifestations of fever and sometimes - chills. Simultaneously, there are symptoms of intestinal damage: pain in the abdomen, diarrhea, flatulence. If the rectum is involved in the inflammatory and ulcerative process, then the appearance of tenesmus - a false urge to excrement. Feces are characterized by mucous and bloody impurities. Sometimes in patients there is dryness and lagging of the tongue, as well as spasms and painful sensations in the colon itself. The liver becomes painful and enlarged.

At inspection by means of a rectomanoscopy always presence of the focal infiltrative-ulcerative process is ascertained. In laboratory blood tests, there are signs of mild anemia, eosinophilia, and a decrease in protein and albumin levels. ESR at the same time becomes moderately increased.

If acute balantidiasis has a severe form of perforation, the patient experiences the following symptoms: severe fever, severe symptoms of intoxication, in which the patient experiences signs of chills, nausea, vomiting and headache. Exercises can be up to twenty times a day, with mucus and blood present in them, and the smell of feces becomes putrid. Patients lose weight very much, and after a week they can establish cachexia. Sometimes there are signs of irritation of the peritoneum.

The procedure of rectomanoscopy in this case reveals the presence of extensive ulcerative changes in the mucosal epithelium of the large intestine. In laboratory blood tests, the presence of hypochromic anemia and neutrophilic leukocytosis is detected.

The chronic form of the disease manifests itself as follows: the phases of exacerbation are typical, which are similar to acute balantidiasis, as well as periods of remission. In this case, during remissions there may be no symptoms of the disease, including diarrhea.

With chronic balantidiasis, signs of intoxication are expressed in a weak form, and body temperature remains normal. Defecation occurs about two to three times a day, while the stool becomes liquid, with impurities of mucus, and sometimes - blood. At palpation, painful sensations are noted in the region of the location of the blind and ascending gut.

Diagnostic procedures using rectomanoscopy state the presence of typical ulcerative changes in the intestinal mucosa. A confirmation of the diagnosis is the laboratory studies of stool, in which parasites are found.

The diseases that cause balantidia are most often dangerous for a person's life, therefore it is very important to diagnose balantidias correctly and start the appropriate treatment in a timely manner.

[7], [8], [9], [10], [11], [12], [13],

Treatment of balantidium

Before carrying out therapy of any disease, it is necessary to conduct qualitative diagnostics, which will make sure of the presence of a certain disease.

Balantidiasis is diagnosed as follows. A drop of faeces that have just been isolated should be placed in an isotonic sodium chloride solution. All of the above is located on a slide and is examined with a microscope. Balantidia can be detected because of their large size, as well as active movement.

The allocation of infusorians occurs periodically, so the diagnosis should be carried out more than once, and several to really verify the presence of these parasites. Sometimes, to conduct a study of the patient's feces, he is prescribed the use of a salt laxative. It is necessary to know that carriers of balantidium have only single cysts that are difficult to detect.

Balantidiasis, as a parasitic disease, requires effective therapy. Treatment balantidium is successfully carried out using etiotropic methods, which include the use of certain drugs, namely:

• Metronidazole or Trichopol.

Adult patients should take 1.2 grams of medicines per day, and children - for 0.75 grams of the drug. The course of treatment is seven days.

• Monomycin.

Adults take a dose of the drug, ranging from fifty thousand to two hundred fifty thousand units, four times a day. The course of treatment is five days with a break from five days to one week. Then a five-day course of therapy should be repeated.

In severe forms of the disease, the course of treatment consists of three five-day medications with two interruptions from five to seven days.

• Tetracycline.

This medication is prescribed for a severe manifestation of the disease. Adults take two grams of the drug per day for a week.

• Diiodohin.
• Yatren.

Also parallel to the above therapy is the implementation of detoxification and nonspecifically stimulating treatment of the disease.

The recovery of the patient is ascertained by specialists if the patient does not have a colitis syndrome. Also important are the data of coprologic examination and reparation of the intestinal wall, in which there is no balantidium.

Balantidia are serious violators of human well-being and health. Therefore, with the slightest strange symptoms indicating parasitic infection, it is recommended to undergo a comprehensive examination to identify protozoa in the body. In this case, human health can be restored in the shortest possible time, which will save him from serious consequences and problems.