Clinical and epidemiological characteristics of ascariasis of adults and children in the Astrakhan region for 2015-2019

Abstract. The article analyzes the incidence of ascariasis in the Astrakhan region for the period from 2015 to 2019. During this period, 18,757 cases of parasitic infestations in humans were registered in the region, of which ascariasis accounted for 125 (0,7%) of the total number of all parasitoses registered in the region. Ascariasis was registered in individuals of different ages. Thus, in children, cases of ascariasis were registered in 59,2%. The adult population accounted for 40,8%. In 48,8% of cases, the clinical diagnosis: «Ascariasis» was made, mainly based on clinical symptoms and complaints, in 45,6% of cases – during annual medical examinations. In 61,6% of cases, the disease was clinically manifested in the form of various complaints, and 38,4% of the patients had no complaints. Ascariasis was registered in patients of various ages, but it was most often observed in children. The cause of the disease in most cases was non-compliance with the rules of personal hygiene – eating unwashed fruits and vegetables, the habit of biting your nails (onigophagia). The diagnosis was necessarily confirmed in the laboratory. Thus, in 82,4% of cases, Ascaris lumbricoides eggs were found in the feces delivered to the laboratory. A negative result of a laboratory study (the absence of parasite eggs in the feces) indicated that the «failed life cycle» of ascariids, due to the presence of a female Ascaris lumbricoides in the host body and the absence of a male there.