Thiabendazole Health Dictionary

This infection is caused by nematode worms of the genus Strongyloides spp. – the great majority being from S. stercoralis. This helminth is present throughout most tropical and subtropical countries; a single case report has been made in England – about an individual who had not been exposed to such an environment. Larvae usually penetrate intact skin, especially the feet (as with hookworm infection). Unlike hookworm infection, eggs mature and hatch in the lower gastrointestinal tract; thus larvae can immediately re-enter the circulation in the colo-rectum or perianal region, setting up an auto-infection cycle. Therefore, infection can continue for the remaining lifespan of the individual. Severe malnutrition may be a predisposing factor to infection, as was the case in prisoners of war in south-east Asia during World War II.

Whilst an infected patient is frequently asymptomatic, heavy infection can cause jejunal mucosal abnormalities, and an absorptive defect, with weight loss. During the migratory phase an itchy linear rash (larva currens) may be present on the lower abdomen, buttocks, and groins; this gives rise to recurrent transient itching. In an immunosuppressed individual, the ‘hyperinfection syndrome’ may ensue; migratory larvae invade all organs and tissues, including the lungs and brain. Associated with this widespread infection, the patient may develop an Enterobacteriacae spp. SEPTICAEMIA; this, together with S. stercoralis larvae, produces a MENINGOENCEPHALITIS. There is no evidence that this syndrome is more common in patients with HIV infection.

Diagnosis consists of visualisation of S. stercoralis (larvae or adults) in a jejunal biopsy-section or aspirate. Larvae may also be demonstrable in a faecal sample, especially following culture. Eosinophilia may be present in peripheral blood, during the invasive stage of infection. Chemotherapy consists of albendazole. The formerly used benzimidazole compound, thiabendazole, is now rarely prescribed in an uncomplicated infection due to unpleasant side-effects; even so, in the ‘hyperinfection syndrome’ it probably remains the more e?ective of the two compounds.... strongyloidiasis

A disease acquired by swallowing the ova (eggs) of a roundworm which lives in the intestine of cats (Toxocara cati) or dogs (Toxocara canis). In humans, the small larval worms produced by these ova migrate to various parts of the body, including the retina of the EYE, where they then die, producing a small GRANULOMA which in turn may produce allergic reactions. In the eye it may cause choroidretinitis. It is said that 2 per cent of apparently healthy people in Britain have been infected in this way. A course of treatment with thiabendazole is recommended, though the drug has side-effects and should be used with caution in the elderly.... toxocariasis

Trichinosis, or trichiniasis, is a disease caused by eating meat infected with the parasitic nematode worm, Trichinella spiralis. Although it infects more than 100 animal species, this nematode usually infects humans via pig meat in which the immature spiralis is encysted. The full-grown female worm, which inhabits the intestine, is 3 mm in length, and the larvae, to whose movements the disease is due, are much smaller. The disease is acquired by eating raw or underdone pork from pigs that have been infected with the worm. When such a piece of meat is eaten, the embryos contained in it are set free and develop into full-grown trichinellae; from each pair of these, 1,000 or more new embryos may arise in a few weeks. These burrow through the walls of the gut, spread throughout the body and settle in voluntary muscle.

Prevention is based on thorough inspection of meat in slaughterhouses; even cooking, unless the meat is in slices, is not an e?cient protection. Pigs should not be fed on unboiled garbage. Rats may be a source of sporadic outbreaks, as infected rats have been found near piggeries. The disease is widely distributed throughout the Americas, Asia, Africa and the Arctic. Sporadic cases and epidemics occur and outbreaks also appear in Europe, although rarely in Britain.

Treatment Thiabendazole or mebendazole are usually e?ective, while STEROID treatment helps patients with systemic illness and muscle tenderness.... trichinosis

(thiabendazole) n. an *anthelmintic used to treat *creeping eruption. It may cause vomiting, vertigo, and gastric discomfort.... tiabendazole