Clinical aspects, diagnosis and treatment of trichinellosis.
Trichinellosis, the human disease induced by worms of the genus Trichinella, is caused by the consumption of raw or undercooked meat of various types of animals and has a worldwide prevalence of approximately eleven million. Since there are no pathognomonic signs or symptoms, clinical diagnosis is difficult and the only reliable diagnostic methods are serodiagnosis and muscle biopsy. Treatment consists of benzimidazoles and glucocorticosteroids, yet in order for these drugs to be effective, they must be administered before the end of the acute stage; thus early diagnosis is fundamental. To aid in the recognition and treatment of trichinellosis, an overall description of its clinical aspects, diagnosis and treatment has been prepared.
Laboratory of Parasitology, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy. pozio@iss.it
Edoardo
E
Pozio
Maria Angeles
MA
Gomez Morales
Jean
J
Dupouy-Camet
D000208:Acute Disease; D000818:Animals; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D014234:Trichinella / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D014235:Trichinellosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy*
D005938:Glucocorticoids