Imagine you go on a vacation in the tropics. You do some sightseeing, maybe zip-lining through the treetops, relax on a lazy river through the jungle on an inner tube… Or if that’s not your cup of tea, how about an African safari? You ride on a jeep-led tour as you snap photographs of elephants, antelope, giraffes… Maybe you’re lucky enough to spot a rare cheetah or a lazy lion. Now you get back from your eventful and exciting vacation, and you feel refreshed and relaxed. Then maybe in a few days to a week, you notice some red bumps on your skin. Funny, those weren’t there before. They become itchy, maybe painful, but you hope they’ll go away. But no, they persist. You go to the doctor; they don’t know what it is. But it’s okay. A couple red bumps. It’s not life threatening, maybe painful, but you can function. But of course, you just want the pain and the associated bumps to go away.
This can be a common scenario, and in fact, happened to a family friend. Her family took a vacation in Belize, and she returned to have three red bumps on her scalp. Her son also had one. Those bumps, larger than a mosquito bite, were still small, but painful. She got piercing headaches. Attending the physician yielded no diagnosis, even when she mentioned she returned from Belize.
It was her husband that researched the mysterious red bumps on the internet to diagnose her. It was botfly larva nestled inside of her skin. Luckily, the larvae are not horribly dangerous, merely painful. He coated the protrusions with Vaseline, and a day later, used tweezers on the revealed antenna to pull the growing larva out. The Vaseline covers the pore so that the larvae are suffocated beneath the skin.
So how do these larvae end up on humans? The adult flies are free-living (ie. do not live burrowed in our skin) and lay their eggs anywhere from bed spreads or clothing to mosquitoes. When humans come into contact with the eggs, the larvae are transferred to the warm body and burrow beneath the skin. In some cases, the botfly can lay eggs directly on the humans.
When a human is infested with some species of fly (botfly are the usual culprits in infesting humans), it is called myiasis. Unlike lice which nestle in our hair, myiasis is actually a burrowed maggot of some fly species, usually the botfly, but potentially others. Scabies, a highly contagious mite, also burrows, but infests via contact with mites, rather than larvae. In addition, in scabies, you see more of a rash pattern rather than few or singular protrusions as in myiasis. The botfly larvae can burrow in any skin, sometimes in the soles of the feet if one is barefoot and comes into contact in eggs within the soil.
Of course, I imagine the number one question would be how to avoid becoming infested with botfly larvae. I also vacated to Belize a couple of years ago and everyone in my group was botfly-free. Insect repellent is a must when travelling to tropical regions (and even non-tropical regions). Be sure to check the local insects and be aware of what is out there and potential diseases. Don't go barefoot. (Botfly eggs are not the only potential parasites lurking in the soil!) And lastly, don't leave clothing outside, like a hat, and then wear it. You never know what might be on it.
With every parasite, avoidance is a matter of knowing how the parasite transmits and eliminating those pathways to protect yourself. Safe travels!
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Friday, September 19, 2014
Why bother? - Parasites and the Lack of Attention in the US
I was debating on what topic to choose to write about for this week, and one kept coming to the forefront of my mind. Why parasites? I should have honestly made this the first of my open blog posts even if I vaguely covered the process of settling on parasites as the overarching theme for this blog in the first post. But I digress…
Why parasites? Why go into the deep layers of tissue and skin to rip out the little hookworm nestled in there? Why dive into the warm waters in Florida to search for the microscopic horror of an amoeba lurking there? Why try to cover the topic that would make people cringe and clench their eyes shut when faced with it?
Is it for a shock factor? Perhaps.
What about the clinical significance? Certainly millions of lives have been claimed by malaria. More die from neglected tropical diseases such as onchocerciasis, or River Blindness, and other diseases. This holds a greater weight in my choosing of parasites as my muse.
But there’s something, while gross, intriguing about the creatures that have managed to evolve alongside us rather than being wiped out. They seek to boost their own survival by living off another living being. Some take action right away, infecting just about anywhere in our bodies and waging war against us. Others have evolved to survive, inactive and safe in a cocoon, safe until the time is right.
They lurk in our pets, the soil, fresh water, our food, or even in pests that like to bite us. It seems almost as if there’s no escape from parasites. They continue to thrive and exist in the world with us, and while most parasites don’t aim to end up inside us, inevitably, it does happen. The Toxocara species of roundworm can be found in dogs or cats. Uncooked pork can yield trichinosis. A mosquito bite in Africa can result in malaria.
Parasites seem to remain listed among tropical medicine, even if they exist here in the United States and in Europe. This can result in lack of knowledge among medical practitioners, even infectious disease physicians. If you wanted a Master’s Degree in Parasitology in the US, you’d have to venture over to Texas, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, or New York. Maybe it’s because the US prides itself as being the country with the most and most recent technology in the medical field – even if it helps make our healthcare the most expensive.
With up-to-date and recent healthcare, parasites pose little threat to our health here with few exceptions. The one with the track record of nearly 100% fatal is extremely rare, and you’d probably never see it in your lifetime (unless you went looking for it). So parasites remain forgotten here. Cancer, heart disease, obesity, and other chronic diseases remain much more important on the research list. The creatures that lurk beneath our line of sight in the environment remain in the shadows of more common and pressing health issues.
Ironically, a new theory has risen stating that parasites can be the “norm” and that they are not necessarily harmful. The hygiene hypothesis states that our immune system evolved to combat pathogens, including parasites, and that with the increasing sanitation, our immune systems became hyperactive. What results then are autoimmune and inflammatory diseases such as Crohn’s Disease, allergies, and rheumatoid arthritis. There have also been recent experiments examining the potential therapeutic nature of some parasitic worms.
So why should we care in the US where malaria is a long forgotten disease unless we step foot in Africa or other tropical climates? It’s not just about curbing the pathogens in our environment, but stepping back and searching for the benefits in these parasitic worms that may relieve these chronic conditions. By name, parasitic worms are already labeled as pathogens. They are seen as the enemy, the cause of disease. But like E. coli being used prominently in molecular biological technology as vessels to replicate plasmids, parasites can too be useful beyond their pathogenic nomenclature.
If the hygiene hypothesis is correct, autoimmune and inflammatory conditions were partly because of our transition to sanitation. But all is not lost. These conditions may become a thing of the past if we revisit parasites instead of turning away from them.
Why parasites? Why go into the deep layers of tissue and skin to rip out the little hookworm nestled in there? Why dive into the warm waters in Florida to search for the microscopic horror of an amoeba lurking there? Why try to cover the topic that would make people cringe and clench their eyes shut when faced with it?
Is it for a shock factor? Perhaps.
What about the clinical significance? Certainly millions of lives have been claimed by malaria. More die from neglected tropical diseases such as onchocerciasis, or River Blindness, and other diseases. This holds a greater weight in my choosing of parasites as my muse.
But there’s something, while gross, intriguing about the creatures that have managed to evolve alongside us rather than being wiped out. They seek to boost their own survival by living off another living being. Some take action right away, infecting just about anywhere in our bodies and waging war against us. Others have evolved to survive, inactive and safe in a cocoon, safe until the time is right.
They lurk in our pets, the soil, fresh water, our food, or even in pests that like to bite us. It seems almost as if there’s no escape from parasites. They continue to thrive and exist in the world with us, and while most parasites don’t aim to end up inside us, inevitably, it does happen. The Toxocara species of roundworm can be found in dogs or cats. Uncooked pork can yield trichinosis. A mosquito bite in Africa can result in malaria.
Parasites seem to remain listed among tropical medicine, even if they exist here in the United States and in Europe. This can result in lack of knowledge among medical practitioners, even infectious disease physicians. If you wanted a Master’s Degree in Parasitology in the US, you’d have to venture over to Texas, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, or New York. Maybe it’s because the US prides itself as being the country with the most and most recent technology in the medical field – even if it helps make our healthcare the most expensive.
With up-to-date and recent healthcare, parasites pose little threat to our health here with few exceptions. The one with the track record of nearly 100% fatal is extremely rare, and you’d probably never see it in your lifetime (unless you went looking for it). So parasites remain forgotten here. Cancer, heart disease, obesity, and other chronic diseases remain much more important on the research list. The creatures that lurk beneath our line of sight in the environment remain in the shadows of more common and pressing health issues.
Ironically, a new theory has risen stating that parasites can be the “norm” and that they are not necessarily harmful. The hygiene hypothesis states that our immune system evolved to combat pathogens, including parasites, and that with the increasing sanitation, our immune systems became hyperactive. What results then are autoimmune and inflammatory diseases such as Crohn’s Disease, allergies, and rheumatoid arthritis. There have also been recent experiments examining the potential therapeutic nature of some parasitic worms.
So why should we care in the US where malaria is a long forgotten disease unless we step foot in Africa or other tropical climates? It’s not just about curbing the pathogens in our environment, but stepping back and searching for the benefits in these parasitic worms that may relieve these chronic conditions. By name, parasitic worms are already labeled as pathogens. They are seen as the enemy, the cause of disease. But like E. coli being used prominently in molecular biological technology as vessels to replicate plasmids, parasites can too be useful beyond their pathogenic nomenclature.
If the hygiene hypothesis is correct, autoimmune and inflammatory conditions were partly because of our transition to sanitation. But all is not lost. These conditions may become a thing of the past if we revisit parasites instead of turning away from them.
Friday, September 12, 2014
Childhood Infestations: Lice
If you take a trip down memory lane, back into the days of elementary school or even preschool, you might remember the yearly checks down at the school nurse’s office. With gloved hands picking through the strands of your hair, she’d mess up your unruly hair, maybe yanking as she roughly goes through the strands, scanning... Looking for something... Maybe one of your classmates was discreetly pulled out of the classroom and went home for the day. If it was you, your parents would have been notified, and you would have had to use a special shampoo or be given medication for some amount of time.
If you didn’t know what she was looking for, (maybe you heard the word “lice,” but didn’t know what lice were at a young age,) it was an ectoparasite, a parasite living on your body by feeding on your blood. In elementary school, when I went through the dreaded lice checks, I didn’t even know what a louse was. All I knew was that they caused your head to itch, and they laid eggs in your scalp. Like every other child, I cringed at the thought of some bug living in my hair and laying eggs to produce more of the things.
Thankfully, head lice are relatively harmless despite being infectious and fairly common, even in the United States. Head lice are also unable to fly, so infestation is by contact with an infested person. Over the counter medications are readily available for infested persons and all clothing, bedding, and like items in contact with the head or hair should be thoroughly cleaned in hot water or air cycles.
Unless you were infested, you might be unfamiliar with two other species of lice, one that infests the body and one that infests the pubic area (also known as “crab” lice). Like head lice, body and crab lice also infest through contact with an infested person. Only body lice are known to transmit disease, such as typhus and trench fever.
To avoid lice, the only way is to avoid infested persons and places where infested persons have been. Lice do not survive off a living person for very long, a day or two at most, but it is wise to not share combs, head scarves, or hats with others. It is unlikely you’d catch lice by staying in hotels where infested people have been, unlike ticks or scabies.
“Crabs” and lice aren’t typically thought of to be a parasite, maybe because they live on the outside of one’s body, and do not live inside, such as a tapeworm. Strictly speaking, a parasite is an organism that lives off another organism while causing some detriment to the host organism. So by this definition, (female) mosquitoes could fit the definition since they live off human blood. Other ectoparasites include, but are not limited to, ticks, fleas, and scabies.
Parasites remain a topic common to tropical medicine, but are missing in industrialized countries. Parasites should be studied everywhere; there are parasites native to the United States that remain an uncommon topic. Lice are fairly harmless and mainly only cause discomfort and itchiness, but some parasites indigenous to the United States can cause detrimental effect to the health of humans. Some of these and other parasites will be a topic for the following weeks.
If you didn’t know what she was looking for, (maybe you heard the word “lice,” but didn’t know what lice were at a young age,) it was an ectoparasite, a parasite living on your body by feeding on your blood. In elementary school, when I went through the dreaded lice checks, I didn’t even know what a louse was. All I knew was that they caused your head to itch, and they laid eggs in your scalp. Like every other child, I cringed at the thought of some bug living in my hair and laying eggs to produce more of the things.
Thankfully, head lice are relatively harmless despite being infectious and fairly common, even in the United States. Head lice are also unable to fly, so infestation is by contact with an infested person. Over the counter medications are readily available for infested persons and all clothing, bedding, and like items in contact with the head or hair should be thoroughly cleaned in hot water or air cycles.
Unless you were infested, you might be unfamiliar with two other species of lice, one that infests the body and one that infests the pubic area (also known as “crab” lice). Like head lice, body and crab lice also infest through contact with an infested person. Only body lice are known to transmit disease, such as typhus and trench fever.
To avoid lice, the only way is to avoid infested persons and places where infested persons have been. Lice do not survive off a living person for very long, a day or two at most, but it is wise to not share combs, head scarves, or hats with others. It is unlikely you’d catch lice by staying in hotels where infested people have been, unlike ticks or scabies.
“Crabs” and lice aren’t typically thought of to be a parasite, maybe because they live on the outside of one’s body, and do not live inside, such as a tapeworm. Strictly speaking, a parasite is an organism that lives off another organism while causing some detriment to the host organism. So by this definition, (female) mosquitoes could fit the definition since they live off human blood. Other ectoparasites include, but are not limited to, ticks, fleas, and scabies.
Parasites remain a topic common to tropical medicine, but are missing in industrialized countries. Parasites should be studied everywhere; there are parasites native to the United States that remain an uncommon topic. Lice are fairly harmless and mainly only cause discomfort and itchiness, but some parasites indigenous to the United States can cause detrimental effect to the health of humans. Some of these and other parasites will be a topic for the following weeks.
Friday, September 5, 2014
Annotation: "Teaching Human Parasitology in China"
Zhao, Guanghui; He, Shenyi; Chen, Lin; Shi, Na; Bai, Yang; and Zhu, Xing-Quan. “Teaching human parasitology in China.” Parasites and Vectors 5.77.
This article is a review of the current quality of human parasitology courses in China within higher education institutions. The authors focus on the human parasitology courses offered as required courses or electives, depending on the institution. They call for more integrated parasitology education overall, especially for underdeveloped areas in which parasites are more common.
The authors highlight the current courses that reflect the parasitology education in order to expose China’s education status internationally. The higher education institutions providing some type of parasitology are listed, although the authors note the lack of independent programs. They cover all of the possibilities, even looking into postgraduate education and education of foreign students. Nonetheless, the authors still call for teaching reforms to improve parasitology education within China.
This article would be particularly useful in researching parasitology education and comparing and contrasting China’s established education to those of another nation or region. In addition, this article could also be used in discovering knowledge creation regarding medical education, specifically focusing on parasites and related subjects.
This article is a review of the current quality of human parasitology courses in China within higher education institutions. The authors focus on the human parasitology courses offered as required courses or electives, depending on the institution. They call for more integrated parasitology education overall, especially for underdeveloped areas in which parasites are more common.
The authors highlight the current courses that reflect the parasitology education in order to expose China’s education status internationally. The higher education institutions providing some type of parasitology are listed, although the authors note the lack of independent programs. They cover all of the possibilities, even looking into postgraduate education and education of foreign students. Nonetheless, the authors still call for teaching reforms to improve parasitology education within China.
This article would be particularly useful in researching parasitology education and comparing and contrasting China’s established education to those of another nation or region. In addition, this article could also be used in discovering knowledge creation regarding medical education, specifically focusing on parasites and related subjects.
Hello, World.
When something goes wrong with our bodies, when we feel ill, or when we don’t feel “quite right,” we turn to physicians. We might be referred to a specialist, for example, a pulmonologist if it’s our lungs or breathing, but all the same we look towards physicians. But even physicians are only human, and humans make mistakes or sometimes simply don’t know.
In my experience, the lack of knowledge left my condition undiagnosed for two extra months. Two extra months of pain and mystery, and frustration from friends and family that claimed I was “faking it.” One day, pain began in the back of my neck and my upper back. Like any healthy teen, I presumed it was a strained muscle from lifting something heavy or sleeping in an odd position. When the pain became too severe, I went to the Urgent Care which claimed it was from a heavy backpack and tight muscles. The treatment was muscle relaxants.
The pain continued, but I faithfully took my medication as prescribed, hoping the issue would resolve. It never did. Rather it became worse, until a visible growth appeared in my neck. This time, the Urgent Care proceeded to do more tests, and two masses were revealed, one in my neck and another in front of my heart.
The final diagnosis was non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Cancer. The word no one wants to hear. After two years of treatment, I can say I lived to tell the tale. Not without the scars and effects from various drug cocktails, but I am alive.
Other people dance with death in different forms, not a miscalculation when replication in cells goes awry, but sometimes by having a living organism grow inside you, a parasite. Like a tumor grows uncontrollably by potentially hijacking your circulatory system to receive more blood flow, a parasite grows by harvesting nutrients from their host. Some are relatively harmless with only minor symptoms, but others are notorious for killing many of their hosts if left alone. Even if one lives to tell the tale, there may be visible scars of one’s battle. And time is almost always a factor when dealing with parasitic infection.
How do these organisms survive within our bodies? Why do they use us to survive? Are parasites a major threat to our health?
Parasites remain a prime topic regarding tropical medicine, but are a vague or under researched topic among other areas. A parasite is never one’s first thought when trying to figure the cause of one’s illness. Is it because the mind always yields to common causes such as bacteria or viruses, or is it because there is a lack of knowledge overall? Maybe it is because the thought of a “creepy crawly” inside of us is too stomach-turning to bear. But when our physicians cannot diagnose parasites, it puts our health at risk.
I hope to cover why these organisms continue to thrive in the world and their relationship with us along with our relationship with them. What are the dangers to watch out for? Or are we safe in our temperate climate? What are the signs to look for parasitic infection? Let’s go beyond the vague name of “tapeworm” and look at the different types. How about turning towards the parasites your own pet can pick up and potentially infect you? And what about the aquatic amoeba that likes to eat your brain?
Maybe along with disgust and revulsion, we can step back and admire the amazing ability of parasites to live off a host by slipping past our defenses or fighting them… as long as the host isn’t us.
In my experience, the lack of knowledge left my condition undiagnosed for two extra months. Two extra months of pain and mystery, and frustration from friends and family that claimed I was “faking it.” One day, pain began in the back of my neck and my upper back. Like any healthy teen, I presumed it was a strained muscle from lifting something heavy or sleeping in an odd position. When the pain became too severe, I went to the Urgent Care which claimed it was from a heavy backpack and tight muscles. The treatment was muscle relaxants.
The pain continued, but I faithfully took my medication as prescribed, hoping the issue would resolve. It never did. Rather it became worse, until a visible growth appeared in my neck. This time, the Urgent Care proceeded to do more tests, and two masses were revealed, one in my neck and another in front of my heart.
The final diagnosis was non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Cancer. The word no one wants to hear. After two years of treatment, I can say I lived to tell the tale. Not without the scars and effects from various drug cocktails, but I am alive.
Other people dance with death in different forms, not a miscalculation when replication in cells goes awry, but sometimes by having a living organism grow inside you, a parasite. Like a tumor grows uncontrollably by potentially hijacking your circulatory system to receive more blood flow, a parasite grows by harvesting nutrients from their host. Some are relatively harmless with only minor symptoms, but others are notorious for killing many of their hosts if left alone. Even if one lives to tell the tale, there may be visible scars of one’s battle. And time is almost always a factor when dealing with parasitic infection.
How do these organisms survive within our bodies? Why do they use us to survive? Are parasites a major threat to our health?
Parasites remain a prime topic regarding tropical medicine, but are a vague or under researched topic among other areas. A parasite is never one’s first thought when trying to figure the cause of one’s illness. Is it because the mind always yields to common causes such as bacteria or viruses, or is it because there is a lack of knowledge overall? Maybe it is because the thought of a “creepy crawly” inside of us is too stomach-turning to bear. But when our physicians cannot diagnose parasites, it puts our health at risk.
I hope to cover why these organisms continue to thrive in the world and their relationship with us along with our relationship with them. What are the dangers to watch out for? Or are we safe in our temperate climate? What are the signs to look for parasitic infection? Let’s go beyond the vague name of “tapeworm” and look at the different types. How about turning towards the parasites your own pet can pick up and potentially infect you? And what about the aquatic amoeba that likes to eat your brain?
Maybe along with disgust and revulsion, we can step back and admire the amazing ability of parasites to live off a host by slipping past our defenses or fighting them… as long as the host isn’t us.
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