Talks Imperfect

“ Uncover Your Body’s Unwanted Guests ”
Part I

When I think of unwanted guests in human body I remember my high school biology which for squirmiest of reason distorted classmates’ facial expressions not because we were asked to imagine how the guests looked and what they did when they settled in our cells and tissues.

Rather, the topic was made more intriguing since we had to confront real, live, wriggling ascaris, pin worms, tapeworms, and hookworms of some infinite numbers that our teacher had collected in tumblers and installed in front of class for everyone else to see.

And the worst part was when we were reminded that our encounters no matter how strange and grotesque they looked at a distance had in fact parallel realities inside our bodies. I remember my nerve endings feeling reactive when my teacher said that those parasites entered our body in almost every identifiable and ordinary form: eating partially or uncooked food, swimming in contaminated water, drinking dirty water, walking barefoot,  and so on, and staying with us for many years or even as long as we live. It was a first graphic description of invisible guests in human body and only later did I realize that they are indeed our true body parasites.

Though I haven’t seen those bottles anymore reminding me of internal aliens sucking nutrients and depressing our immune system, I dread to think that they could be inside me enjoying my fruit juice or sushi of salmon.

Are you shocked? That you could be harboring at least a minimum of one form of parasite in your body? The World Health Organization estimates that ¼ of the world population suffers from chronic intestinal parasitic infection. About 1.5 billion people have roundworms, 1 billion people have whipworms and more than 1 billion people carry hookworm in their guts, and 265 million people are infected with schistosomes. (United Nations Children's Fund. The State of the World's Children 1998).

In estimates, there are 120 different kinds of parasite in the human body. And about 300 different types of parasites are noted to be thriving in America today (Schumacher 1988). Some health authorities including those from the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research and Laboratory for Parasitic Diseases of the National Institute of Health noted that there is parasite epidemic in the US and in terms of numbers, there are more parasitic infections acquired in the US than in Africa.

Between 80 and 95% of American adult population has at least one form of parasite living in their bodies. And while more cases are noted extending across color lines, generations and geographical boundaries, the “tremendous problem” is just not being addressed. Political leaders addressed wars to protect human lives and national boundaries but according to the National Geographic in its award-winning documentary, The Body Snatchers, “i n fact, parasites have killed more humans than all the wars in history” (2003).  

Just how do these parasites enter insidiously but effectively the human body? And where do they lodge once they are inside the soft tissues of our body? I think you know some of their entry techniques. The most common ways to catch worms include eating infected raw or poorly cooked fish, meat and poultry, drinking contaminated water and eating contaminated vegetables. For example, watercress is a haven for liver fluke, a flatworm parasite that infests the liver, bile duct and gall bladder of humans and other mammals.

Different worms have their own niches. Pinworms, the very tiny white worms, the ones that make you scratch your anus, can be transmitted on the fingers to anything you touch.    

Tapeworms, which can grow to as long as 30 feet inside the human body, can be found not only in the intestine but in other parts of the body. They can live anywhere in the body - intestines, lungs, liver, muscles, or brain. One autopsy revealed five tapeworms in a woman's head.

A parasite called plerocercoid of Spirometra erinaceieuropaei found in dogs and cats infect humans with the larval stage (plerocercoid). Touching dogs, cats, and other animals may lead to one's picking up parasites eggs or sometimes parasites themselves. This parasite can burrow in subcutaneous tissue of human breast and mimic symptoms of breast cancer. Below is a picture of the parasite’s entire body from a woman patient who was admitted to hospital because of swelling of her left breast. An x-ray examination revealed 2 x 2 cm nodule in subcutaneous tissue. Since breast cancer was suspected, a resection was performed. When her breast skin was cut, a white string like parasite ran out

Hookworm can enter the human body by boring itself into the naked feet, eating with unwashed hands and touching the stools of an infected person and then touching the mouth with a contaminated hand. It can lay between 5 and 10,000 eggs a day and can live for fourteen years inside your body.

Ascaris, the most common form and the largest of roundworms that infects children and adults, bore through the intestinal wall and settle in other organs such as the respiratory system. Humans get infected after direct or indirect contact with contaminated soil or through ingestion.  Female worms produce more than 200,000 eggs per day. Once the fertilized eggs are hatched, the larvae burrow through the intestines, travel to the liver, and to the respiratory system. They are reswallowed and mature in the intestine. Then the cycle starts all over again. In the United States, it is estimated that about two percent of the population is infected by ascaris. In developing countries where there is overcrowding, poor sanitation, lack of running water among other things, the problems of ascariasis and parasite infestation are of paramount importance to health authorities

There is one parasite that affects the sexual life of human beings. It is a microscopic parasite called trichomonas vaginalis that causes foul-smelling vaginal discharge. It is sexually transmitted and when passed to a male partner   can cause non-specific urethritis . In some areas of the United States, this condition is found in 50 percent of all women.

To be continued. Part II tackles the problems of parasites that are not killed by chlorination.     What are the symptoms of parasite infestations? How can we get rid of parasites from our bodies?

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