Trichuris Trichura

• Whipworm

  Common name
• it is the principal host of Trichuris?

  man
• Adult whipworm

  Lives attached to the wall of the caecum
• Principal host of Trichuris

  • Humans
  • Monkeys
  • Hogs
• Female

  • Slightly larger than male
  • Measures 3.5 to 5 cm in length
  • Straight posterior end
• Male

  • Measures 3 to 4.5 cm in length
  • Posterior end coiled through 360º or more
  • Has a sheathed single spicule
• disease name?

  trichuriasis
• The eggs measure 50 – 54 by 22 – 23 microns and are discharged in the stool in the unsegmented stage
• Egg appearance

  • Barrel shaped/lemon shaped/football shaped or Japanese lantern in appearance
  • Prominent bipolar plugs on both ends
• Egg shell

  Rather thick and composed of three layers, with yellowish outer layer and a transparent inner layer
• Embryonation of eggs

  1. Takes place in soil

  2. First stage larva is formed in three weeks
• Life cycle

  1. Adult worm inhabits the caecum

  2. Fertilized eggs are unsegmented when passed out in the feces

  3. Embryonation takes place in the soil, where an unhatched, first stage larvae is produced in 3 weeks in a favorable environment

  4. Fully embryonated egg is ingested by man, the activated larvae escapes from the weakened eggshell in the upper small intestine and penetrate the intestinal wall, where it remains for 3 to 10 days, then passes down to the caecum to transform into adult

  5. Development period from the ingestion of eggs to ovipositing adult worms covers about 30 to 90 days
• The number of eggs produced per day by a female has been establishing at 3,000 to 10,000
• Its life span is 4 to 6 years
• Light infections

  Do not give rise to recognizable clinical manifestations, presence of parasite discovered only on routine stool examination
• Heavy Trichuriasis

  • Worms found throughout the colon and rectum
  • Characteristic clinical picture includes frequent small blood-streaked diarrheic stool
  • Abdominal pain and tenderness
  • Nausea and vomiting
  • Anemia (hypochromic anemia)
  • Weight loss
  • Rectal prolapse
• Diagnosis

  Made by stool examination using DFS or Kato-thick, kato-katz or concentration technique
• Characteristic ova

  • Barrel-shaped
• Diagnosis process

  1. Stool examination

  2. Demonstrate characteristic ova
• Drugs of choice for treating Trichuriasis

  • Albendazole
  • Mebendazole
  • Pyrantel pamoate
• Prevention and Control

  1. Treatment of infected individuals

  2. Sanitary disposal of human feces

  3. Washing of hands before meals

  4. Proper instruction to children on sanitation and proper personal hygiene

  5. Thorough washing and cooking of food

  6. Avoid using human excreta as fertilizer