#parastie

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Parasites Notes, Pt 2

Helminth Parasites

Helminths are large, multicellular organisms that are generally visible to the naked eye in their adult stages. Like Protozoa, Helminths cannot multiply in humans.

There are three main groups of Helminths (derived from the Greek word for worms).

~Flatworms; these include flukes and tapeworms

~Thorny-Headed worms; The adult of these worms reside in the gastrointestinal tract

~Roundworms; the adult forms of these worms can reside in the gastrointestinal tract, blood, lymphatic system, or subcutaneous tissue. Alternatively, the immature (larval) states can cause disease through their infection of various body tissue.

Some consider the helminths to also include segmented worms- the only ones medically recognized are leeches though. Of note, these organisms are not considered parasites.

the better the host the more virulent the parasite

Humans are known to be prey to more than 350 parasitic organisms, some of which hurt us, and some of which can kill us.  Around 850,000 people die every year from malaria, which is caused by a mosquito borne parasite invisible to the human eye.  Whereas the tapeworm, which can grow up to 30 feet in length inside the human gut, will rarely kill…

Parasite (1st in Parasitology Series)

Just finished this book; anyone else read it?  Really, what could possibly go wrong when humans use genetically engineered tapeworms to "fix" what we have done to our body's microbiomes and provide personalized healthcare?  It raises a lot of interesting questions as government, industry, scientists and "everyman" point fingers and battle the inevitable forces of evolution.