Emerging and re-emerging parasitic diseases are on the rise in our country. Notably, there are even rare diseases such as dragon worm infections.
Associate Professor, Dr. Do Trung Dung, Head of the Department of entomology, Vietnam Institute of Malaria - entomology - entomology, said: Infection with dragon worms was quite common in the world before, but is currently only common in African countries.
"This is one of the longest worms in the human body, from 70 to 120 cm. The type of dragon worm in Vietnam is similar to the type of dragon worm that patients in Africa are infected with, not completely similar" - Associate Professor Dung said.
For people infected with this worm, there is currently no early diagnosis method or treatment with medicine, but only waiting for the worm to crawle out. The first case discovered in our country was in Yen Bai.
The danger is that worms can enter other locations such as joint holes and spines and then die, becoming injured, causing stiffness and paralysis because worms enter the spine...
What are Dracunculus dragon worms?
Dragon worm disease, also known as Guinea's disease, is an infectious disease transmitted through the digestive tract, caused by round worm parasites scientifically known as Dracunculus medinensis. Dragon worms are also the longest worm among round worm groups that can cause parasitic diseases on humans.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), adult dragon worms carry about 3 million larvae, which can be 600 to 1,200 mm long and 2 mm in diameter; while male dragon worms are shorter in length, about 400 mm.
Symptoms of dragon worm
About 9 - 14 months after contracting the dragon worm, when the worm starts moving in the underlying tissues and is about to peel, the infected person will have signs such as: Fever, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, shortness of breath accompanied by redness, heat, throbbing and itching in the skin area where the worm is residing (commonly in the legs and feet).
In the next few days, in the swollen skin will blister (diameter from 2 - 7 cm) and broken, yellow discharge, serious skin infection. When the damage is observed, a dragon worm (usually worm) is white. If there is no impact, the worm will also come out of the skin after 3-6 weeks or calcified in the body.
Currently, there is no diagnostic test that can determine whether people are infected with dragon worms or not before symptoms appear.
Is dragon worm infection dangerous?
According to WHO statistics, although the mortality rate from dragon worms is very low, pain in the damage caused by dragon worms can weaken the body and many people suffer lifelong disabilities.
In addition, if not treated properly, if the patient uses his own hand, causing the worm to break, causing worm larvae and toxins in the body to release the path of female worms, making inflammation more serious. The wound caused by dragon worms can be infected, more serious than blood infections, joint infections, abscesses, tetanus, tissue inflammation, leading to joint deformation and even life -threatening.
In the outer environment, dragon worm larvae can live for about 3 weeks and become food for nearsighted animals. Inside, the larvae undergo changes and after two weeks, they are ready to cause infection.
Dragon worms can live up to 4 months in their host if the coastal animal ( Initial owner) becomes prey of other species. At this time, the worm Large continues to parasitize and continue its life cycle on aquatic objects such as shrimp, fish, crab, frog, etc.
The risk of dragon worm is almost similar to other parasites, mainly due to unsanitary eating habits, not eating cooked and drinking boiled water, and accidentally eating parasitic dragon worm Larvae in food and drinking water during the eating process.
In the stomach, the drug worm Larvae are released and develop into worms, which invade and parasitize the stomach lining. After mating, the dragon worms begin to move, crawling into connective tissue under the skin, developing the disease for about a year, then climbing up the skin through lumpy ulcers and coming out.
