Blog Entry
Posted by Kristen Alldrin on July 22, 2010 to Family Life blog
Her stay at UC Davis was short, and she's on the mend.
(click any image to enlarge)
Echinococcus!
This is what the County health folks found in Olivia's lungs. If the cyst hadn't ruptured and spilled its contents (two days before her appointment, no less), we wouldn't have known what to treat. Praise God for His perfect timing!
Echinococcus Life Cycle
More than you wanted to know about this exotic little parasite. The UC Davis nurses really ruined the mystique by writing "Dog worm in lung" next to Olivia's bed. Hmmph!
We took Olivia to U.C. Davis on Tuesday to meet with an infectious disease specialist and based on what they found, they admitted her to the ICU to start on some strong medication. It was confirmed that Olivia has a rare (for the U.S.) parasite called Echinococcus, which forms cysts throughout the body (lungs, heart, brain, liver, kidneys and spleen). When the cysts rupture, it can cause anaphylactic shock as more bugs are released into the bloodstream. The doctor’s fear was that the medication could cause more cysts to rupture as happened on Sunday when she was coughing up blood.
After doing CT scans of her abdomen and an MRI of her brain, the doctors determined that Olivia only has the cysts in her lungs (thus the abnormal chest x-ray). It was determined that she was infected in Ethiopia sometime last fall, based on the size of her cysts. We are thrilled to finally know what is going on in her lungs and that it was caught fairly early before it had spread throughout her body. She will be on medication for 4-6 months and will be checked regularly for the next 10 years.
We were able to come home from U.C. Davis’ ICU after just one night, which is a huge praise. When she was first admitted, the doctor said she would likely be there 4-7 days.
Olivia does not have active TB and is not contagious, but she has been exposed to it at some point in her life. When she is finished with the treatment for Echinococcus, the doctor will put her on medicine that will kill off any TB cells in her body, so that she doesn’t develop active TB later in life. They'll also focus their attention on her ongoing GI issues. (Talk about a fixer-upper!)
We are so thankful for the ways that God has shown Himself faithful in this situation. The timing was perfect for the discovery of this parasite. It is difficult to diagnose and isn’t usually found unless the doctors are doing a scan for some other reason. Loren said last night, “We are just so blessed. Why do we keep catching breaks?” I just had to laugh! Yes, we are blessed indeed. But most people wouldn’t consider having a child with an appendectomy and another in the ICU with a rare parasite within weeks of each other “catching a break”! It’s all in your perspective!
Oh, and by the way, Echinococcus is not transmitted by humans. They are considered a “dead-end host”, so nobody who has been around Olivia needs to worry about catching this.
Finally, for some homeschool science credit (please reference image above):
The Life Cycle of Echinococcus Parasite
- Sheep ingests Echinococcus (Ech.) egg on grass, which then hatches in the sheep's intestines.
- Ech. babies burrow through intestinal wall into bloodstream, then ride the current until they find an organ they like (brain, lungs, liver, etc.). There they set up camp and build a cyst.
- The cyst grows about 1/2-inch a year, until the sheep dies (potentially aided by a large cyst).
- Carnivore (dog, wolf, coyote) eats dead sheep and ingests cyst.
- Cyst ejects Ech. parasite. Worm grows to adulthood in intestines, dropping eggs to outside world in host's feces.
- Sheep comes along and eats grass with egg...
There will be a quiz.
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