Analyzes for toxocariasis

Toxocarosis is a disease characterized by the presence of parasites in the human body - toxocars, which are unusual for it. Most often, helminths affect representatives of feline and canine families, and already get to them from humans.

Worms outwardly resemble ascarids and can penetrate into all organs: the brain, eyes, gastrointestinal tract, lungs, etc. To diagnose the disease, it is necessary to pass an analysis for toxocariasis.

When is diagnostics needed?

Worms are unable to live in the human body for a long time. In people with strong immunity, the body simply destroys the eggs of the parasite and takes them out. What can not be said about young children, because their immune system is not so strong and toxograms can harm a child's body.

How does infection from an animal to a person occur? From the infected animal, the larvae of parasites fall to the ground, ripen in the soil for 30 days and become contagious. Animals (cats and dogs) walking on the street bring their larvae to their house, where they can easily swallow them (poorly wash fruits or vegetables, wash their hands before meals, etc.).

In addition, it is possible to infect through meat that has not undergone sufficient heat treatment (beef, lamb). The risk group includes children who, after playing on the street, pull their hands in their mouths, people working in the land and with animals: veterinarians, diggers, gardeners, dog breeders, etc.

Toxocarosis occurs in people with a periodic manifestation of symptoms. The onset of the disease can be lethargic, or without any signs at all. Without EIA, the diagnosis of toxocarias is difficult, because the signs of the disease are similar to the symptoms of other diseases:

• stupid periodic pain in the abdomen;
• headaches, migraines and convulsions;
• an allergic reaction that can manifest as urticaria or Quincke's edema;
• increase in body temperature to 37-38 degrees;
• lack of air, cough, shortness of breath; increase and soreness of the lymph nodes.

If the house is inhabited by animals, diagnostic tests should be carried out for preventive purposes

How to prepare for the test

To make the result of the tests more accurate, before you donate blood to toxocarosis, you need to follow some simple rules. 24 hours before the test, you should completely stop taking fatty and heavy meals, and this also applies to sweets.

For 3 days is not recommended reception of alcoholic beverages. During the day before delivery, do not take medicines (antibiotics, anthelmintics, etc.).

Blood surrenders in the morning on an empty stomach (for 8 hours before a meal), it is authorized to drink only simple still water.

It is desirable that during the last month there were no x-ray investments. If you do not follow the rules, they can significantly affect the number of antibodies to the disease. But there are other factors that can influence the result of the research: tuberculosis, malignant neoplasms, hepatic insufficiency, endocrinopathy of autoimmune genesis.

Even pregnancy can significantly affect the results of tests, as fetal bearing involves the production of immunoglobulins and their total number increases.

What tests must I take

To undergo a complete examination for toxocarosis, it is necessary to donate blood not only for ELISA, but also to look at the clinical analysis and liver tests. The general analysis of blood in the disease will differ from healthy: ESR high, lymphocytes, eosinophils and leukocytes are also elevated, hemoglobin below 110 g / L.

In the case of severe helminthic invasion, the indices will be increased by 2 or even 3 times. In case of infection, liver tests indicate a high content of bilirubin in the blood, which indicates an excessive load on the liver.

An immunoenzymatic blood test for toxocariasis is the most reliable among all types of research. The blood for him is taken from the vein. During the procedure, the amount of immunoglobulins of the body against the parasite antigens will be revealed. The number of antibodies in the blood is called titres. After her research, the calculation is made.

The interpretation of the results obtained is not difficult:

• 1: 100 - no infection occurred, the norm;
• 1: 400 - toxocarosis in the initial stage or remission;
• 1: 600 and above - the disease develops.

Titer 1: 200-1: 400 is considered false positive. Such results can be observed in people who have been treated with toxocariasis. But a positive result can come not only from parasites, but from other causes.

Venous blood is a biological material used for examination for toxocariasis

The coefficient of positivity is the term denoting the difference between normal indices and the number of antibodies in the blood. If the result is less than 1,1 - there are no parasites in the body, from 1.1-4.1 - a weakly positive coefficient and the patient is offered to undergo a second diagnosis after 60 days, above 4.2 - a person is infected or is a carrier.

Where can you donate blood for analysis and what will be its cost? Almost all private laboratories have special reagents for research. These include Invitro and Hemotest. The price for the analysis varies from 50-1000 rubles.

Recommendations of doctors

Each case of the disease is recorded in the reporting system in the State Sanitary and Epidemiological Service. For the purpose of prevention, the following measures are used:

• deworming in pets;
• thorough washing of hands and food after contact with the land, measures to protect the location of children from walking with animals;
• information activities on the ways of transmission of parasites for animal lovers, gardeners, etc.

After the transferred disease, immunity is produced, which will prevent re-infection. Currently, a vaccine is being developed to prevent toxocariasis.