Naaju Breaking News, Live Updates, Latest Headlines, Viral News, Top Stories, Trending Topics, Videos
[ad_1]
It’s a parasite which, if left untreated, can kill a human being.
Experts in Alberta, Canada, have reported an “alarming” increase in cases of alveolar equinococosis (‘Echinococcus multilocularis’, o EM).
They explain that it is a strange disease and that it can be life threatening due to parasite “imported” from Europe that develops in the liver, “causing serious health complications and even death,” according to a report released by the University of Alberta.
A survey revealed in March of this year into cases of MS in Alberta found 17 cases of the disease diagnosed in the province between 2013 and 2020.
Rare in humans
The disease is rare in humans. It is normally found in parts of Europe and Asia. Before the 2010s, it was virtually non-existent in North America.
Before the “alarming” increase, only two human cases of MS had been confirmed in North America: one in the Canadian province of Manitoba in 1928 and one in the US state of Minnesota in 1977.
“This parasite has now become widely established in the wild in the prairies. It has been found in Saskatchewan and British Columbia, but Alberta has seen the majority of cases of human disease,” said Stan Houston, expert in infectious diseases at the University. from Alberta and co-director of the study, according to Rt.
Microscopic tapeworm eggs
The disease is contracted by consuming microscopic tapeworm eggs, eating contaminated food or handling infected animals. These eggs can implant and develop in organs.
Maybe he came to Canada on dogs brought to the area.
The hosts of this parasite are dogs, usually foxes and coyotes, but also potentially domestic dogs, although the parasite is considered relatively harmless to them.
When a rodent ingests parasite eggs from dog feces, it acquires a different form of the disease and develops a tumor, or parasitic growth, in the liver that kills it. When a dog eats the rodent, the parasite resumes the form of a tapeworm.
“If the parasite is caught early, treatment may include surgery to remove it from the liver. Since the parasite initially shows no symptoms, it tends to grow slowly. Once detected, about two-thirds of the time. patients will be inoperable. In these cases, antiparasitic drugs will be used continuously, “adds Rt.
If left untreated, the parasite could kill its human host within 10 to 15 years.
UAlberta, Ajtmh.org, Rt, Twitter.
.
[ad_2]
Source link
