Simple steps too reduce your chance of intestinal parasites

Over 3.5 Billion people in the world are infected with intestinal parasites. 450 Million are ill on a daily basis due too a parasitic infliction. As an international society, we need to begin too look at simple ways to lower our risk of acquiring such a repulsive sickness.  I will share one simple way to reduce your risk.

Many of us are guilty of not washing our fruit before we eat, we rationalize it by thinking we're just eating some dirt or maybe a little bit of pesticide. Washing fruit and vegetables before we consume them is imperative too maintain a healthy body, as I've discussed before we can acquire an intestinal parasite through touch of infected dirt and that also includes eating something from contaminated dirt. 

A recent study was done were 304 samples were taken from farmlands, included in these samples were: parsley, spearmint, scallion, basil, coriander, dill, cress, leek, tarragon, radish and purslane, among others. These veggies and herbs were separated into three groups- unwashed and the second and third were washed the traditional way (with water and some rubbing). In the unwashed group, almost 33% of the samples had intestinal parasites, including eggs. What's even more interesting is contamination amounts differed from season to season; 55% in spring, 45.5% in summer, 14.9% in autumn and 12.3% in winter. These study highlights the very real risk of eating unwashed and contaminated fruits, veggies and herbs from anywhere in the world.

Another recent study of 200 food handlers at a hospital in Saudi Arabia revelaed that 23% of the workers tested postive for an intestinal parasite. We have to take self-responsibility, making sure we do not spread infections too others, by washing our hands often and using the necessary safety precautions if working in the food industry (or any job with contact of others). Taking these simple precautions could reduce drastically the new cases of intestinal parasites annually.

Prevalence of parasitic contamination in vegetables used for raw consumption in Shahrekord, Iran: Influence of season and washing procedure. Aziz A. Fallah, Khodadad Pirali-Kheirabadi, Fatemeh Shirvani, S. Siavash Saei-Dehkordi. Food Control.  June 2012 v25 i2 p617(4).

Prevalence of intestinal parasites and bacteria among food handlers in a tertiary care hospital.D. Zaglool, Y. Khodari, R. A M. Othman, M. Farooq. Nigerian Medical Journal.  Oct-Dec 2011 v52 i4 p266.

Tongue eating louse, even creepier than a tongue ring

     My last two posts have been about the perplexing problem of intestinal parasites, but after much 
research I have stumbled upon a different kind of parasite. It's quite a disturbing because it over takes over the tongue of a fish and becomes that organ.
This parasite is called a Cymothoa exigua or tongue eating louse (louse is plural for lice), and it is just as disgusting as it sounds. Luckily for us humans it only affects fish, unluckily for fish it only affects them.  

     This parasite enters the fish's mouth through the gills attaching to the base of the tongue. It draws blood using claws on the front three legs and the parasite begins to grow very large. After an unknown amount of time passes of feeding on the fish's tongue, less and less blood is able to get to this organ which eventually leads to the tongue falling off. The parasite then attaches the area where the tongue fell off too its own body and begins to function as the fish's tongue. It does not actually cause any harm to the fish, some scientists believe it may increase the natural mortaility rate in the first few years of the parasite taking over though.


     I know this is not exactly an intestinal parasite, but I find it infinitely interesting that this natural phenomena happens. It is the only known case of a parasite becoming an organ in the host it has inhabitated, which leads us to continue to marvel (and get the nasty shivers) at this incredible happening that occurs in nature.

Studies on the biology of the parasitic isopod Cymothoa exigua Schioedte and Meinert, 1884 and its relationship with the snapper Lutjanus peru (Pisces: Lutjanidae) Nichols and Murphy, 1922, from commercial catch in Michoacan. Ruiz L., A | Madrid V., J Ciencias marinas. Ensenada [CIENC. MAR.]. Vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 19-34. 1992. 

R. C. Brusca & M. R. Gilligan (1983). "Tongue replacement in a marine fish (Lutjanus guttatus) by a parasitic isopod (Crustacea: Isopoda)". Copeia : 813–816.

Ernest H. Williams, Jr. & Lucy Bunkley-Willliams (2003). "New records of fish-parasitic isopods (Cymothoidae) in the Eastern Pacific (Galapagos and Costa Rica)".Noticias de Galápagos (62): 21–23.

"Tongue-eating bug found in fish". BBC News. September 2, 2005.

Intestinal parasites while traveling in developing countries

Even though we can contract an intestinal parasite in any country at any time, there is a much higher chance of contracting one in a less developed nation, such as India or Africa. It is believed that only famine and malaria cases outnumber intestinal parasite infections in these developing nations leading to extreme malnuturition and lack of energy in these citizens. The most upsetting things about this rampant infection of intestinal worms is that more than half of these cases are estimated to be in children.

So while many people from the industrialized nations look forward to world travels, including these countries so deeply infected with intestinal parasites we all need to be aware and take precautions so that we do not bring home an unwanted souvenir like a hookworm or intestinal protozoa.

picture of a hookworm

1) Avoid unclear water, try to always use bottled. Many intestinal parasites are transmitted by drinking unsanitary water or just using infected water to wash fruits or veggies.

2) Do not eat raw food because many intestinal parasites are killed by heat. If left uncooked or undercooked and then consumed you can contract an intestinal parasite this way.

3) Be very meticulous with your personal hygiene and sanitation, because person to person contact is very common. Wash your hands after changing an infants diaper who could be infected, wash your own hands after using the bathroom or even being in an unsanitary place such as a bathroom or just touching dirt because the parasites can simply live in the ground you have touched. Also, intestinal parasites can be contracted though unsafe anal sex, so protect your body when sexually active.

4) Take natural remedies (herbs) such as garlic or wormwood before leaving for your travels, so if you do accidentally contract something there is a much slimmer chance that it will stay in your body.

references: 

http://www.healthguidance.org/entry/11648/1/How-to-Avoid-Intestinal-Parasites.html

1. Goldmann DA, 
2. Wilson CM

. Pinworm infestations. In: Hoekelman RA,Friedman SB, Nelson NM, Seidel HM, Weitzman ML, editors. Primary pediatric care. 3rd ed. St Louis, MO: Mosby; 1997. p. 1519.

Bartlett AV, Englender SJ, Jarvis BA, et al. Controlled trial of Giardia lamblia: control strategies in day care centers. Am J Public Health 1991; 81:1001.

Drugs for parasitic infections, 2nd ed. The Medical Letter. 2010. http://secure.medicalletter.org/para (Accessed on February 17, 2012).

Meet your friendly neighborhood parasites

    All humans have too eat food and drink water to live. It's a very disturbing thought that we can contract worm-like bacteria in our intestines by doing these daily functions. Intestinal parasites (the name sends a chill down my spine) are a type of parasite that live mainly in the human (and also other species) digestive system. There are two main types of intestinal parasites- Helminths (Tapeworms, pinworms and round worms) which cannot multiply in a human body, the other type is called Protozoa which are single celled parasites, which can multiply in the human body and cause severe infections (UMMC).
    There are many types of  side effects one can experience when they unfortunately get an intestinal parasite some of the most common being: Diarrhea, abdominal pain, vomiting/nausea, gas/bloating, extreme fatigue, weight loss and seeing a worm in your stool (Kucik 2004)

A intestinal parasite taken out of a human.

Whipworm under a microscope.

    So what can you do to lower your risk of intestinal parasites? A study found that vitamin A plays a large role in healthy immune function and if taken daily it has been found to lower your chance of parasitic infection, particularly Giardia (Gaby 2010). Washing your hands after you come in from outside, especially if you have been touching dirt, is very important because they can be acquired by absorption through skin. Another important step is making sure your meat is thoroughly cooked and you are drinking clean water (this is a bigger issue in the 3rd world countries) (Kucik 2004). Also you should be very carefully when traveling, especially too 3rd world countries because they are a very prominent problem with intestinal parasites due to inadequate drinking water and found not being prepared properly and sanitarily.






Gaby, Alan R. "Vitamin A and intestinal parasites." Townsend Letter July 2010: 22.Gale Science In Context. Web. 6 Oct. 2012.

Am Fam Physician. 2004 Mar 1;69(5):1161-1169.

CORRY JEB KUCIK, LT, MC, USN, GARY L. MARTIN, LCDR, MC, USN, and BRETT V. SORTOR, LCDR, MC,    USN, Naval Hospital Jacksonville, Jacksonville, Florida

University of Maryland Medical Center- intestinal parasites http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/intestinal-parasites-000097.htm