As a businessman you are bound to travel to different parts of the world. However, on your voyages you may encounter different dangers and one of them may be very unpleasant worm infection.
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Ascariasis is a very common roundworm infection caused by the worm named Ascaris lumbricoides which is an intestinal roundworm. It is the largest intestinal parasite which can live in human body and today around 1.5 billion people - 25 percent of all population on Earth - are infected with that worm.
It is very easy to be infected by eating the eggs of the roundworm which resides in the small intestine. The larvae hatch from the eggs and penetrate the intestine, travel with the blood to the liver and then they end up in the lungs. The larvae then continue their trip all the way up the airways and in the mouth. There they are swallowed and grows into adults in the small intestine.
When the worms are mature they continue to live in the small intestine, where the females produce around 200,000 eggs every day. Since everything in the intestine must come out those eggs find their way out in the stool. After incubating for 15 to 21 days outside the human body the eggs become infectious.
Ascariasis is the infection mostly found in tropical, humid areas, but it can also be found in the south-eastern United States. Roundworm infection usually occurs through contact with contaminated soil and the cause is often a lack of sanitation. However, the cause can be the use of human manure as fertilizer, and eating foods that are contaminated with the eggs of the roundworm.
The symptoms of a roundworm infection are fever, bloating, vomiting, excess gas, and abdominal distress and cramps. Ascariasis, that very unpleasant infection, is usually diagnosed by identifying eggs in the stool. Sometimes adult worms are found in the stool or vomit. The doctor will use chest x-ray which may detect the worm migration into the lungs. While the symptoms are unpleasant, worms in the lungs is a life-threatening condition and it should be avoided.
Blood tests, for example a complete blood count, can show higher levels of a special kinds of white blood cells and that confirms the infection.
What can you do to prevent the infection, at home and on the road? Fortunately, the protection is very simple: the roundworm infections can be prevented using good sanitation and eating only washed vegetables like salad. That very simple measure will prevent the appearance of worms. You must pay a special attention if you travel to hot areas, Africa, Asia or south-eastern United States. Be aware that you can be infected with roundworm after just one meal.
If an infected person who excrete eggs does not properly dispose his stool, the contaminated stool puts other people at risk for infection. Ascariasis should always be treated - that deserves repetition: always - in order to prevent serious health complications and treat to others. It is treated with drugs such as mebendazole or albendazole. After the roundworm is completely out of the patient's body, he is completely healthy with no other problems caused by worm. ■