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Category: Things We Like
Posted on: May 8, 2006 3:18 PM, by Katherine Sharpe
Thanks, Tim, for the link to this story in Kuro5hin, by an individual who claims to have cured himself of hay fever and asthma by deliberately infesting himself with hookworms.
This first-hand story, as its author notes, "isn't for the faint hearted and for some should not be read while eating."
But I recommend putting that afternoon snack down, and checking it out.
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Comments
That's pretty interesting and somewhat frightening article.
Learning about this was a bonus.
Bilharzia
Bilharzia is a human disease caused by parasitic worms called Schistosomes. Over one billion humans are at risk worldwide and approximately 300 millions are infected. Bilharzia is common in the tropics where ponds, streams and irrigation canals harbor bilharzia-transmitting snails. Parasite larvae develop in snails from which they infect humans, their definitive host, in which they mature and reproduce.
Worms wriggling in your veins
Adult Schistosomes worms are about 1 cm long and hang out in mesenteric veins (the small veins that carry blood from the intestine to the liver). The worms feed on red blood cells and dissolved nutrients such as sugars and amino acids. This can cause anemia and decreased resistance to other diseases.
Schistosomes live in pairs, the male holding and protecting the female inside his ventral groove. Once paired, the two remain in constant copulation. The female lays hundreds of eggs each day, which find their way out of the human body through the urine or the faeces, depending on the species. The pathology is mostly caused by the large number of eggs becoming stuck in various body parts, in particular the liver (causing liver enlargement and malfunction) and the kidneys (causing kidney damage, detectable by blood in the urine).
Posted by: BigDumbChimp![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://scienceblogs.com/seed/nav-commenters.gif)
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May 8, 2006 03:57 PM
The "get a parasite to stop autoimmune problems" idea became better known after Carl Zimmer wrote about researcher studying this. See his wonderful (best horror book of 2000, too bad its not fiction) Parasite Rex.
http://www.carlzimmer.com/parasite_1.html
In his blog (http://loom.corante.com/) he's had more on interesting parasite behavior- the zombie cockroach: always a classic.
Posted by: kathryn from Sunnyvale![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://scienceblogs.com/seed/nav-commenters.gif)
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May 8, 2006 06:15 PM
I have to say my favorite is the parasite that eats the tongue of a fish -- then *replaces it with itself*.
http://www.boingboing.net/2005/09/19/another_picture_of_t.html
Posted by: Tim Murtaugh![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://scienceblogs.com/seed/nav-commenters.gif)
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May 9, 2006 03:48 PM