10 Parasites that could be living inside you
2 min read
Holy jumpin’ tapeworms Batman! You don’t need to stay up for that late night horror movie to get the bejesus scared out of you. Just consider what kind of creepy crawly parasites that could be living inside you right now. Fortunately, most can be treated. But first, watch the video to see what these nasty critters do.
Here’s a list of them:
10 Parasites that could be living inside you
- Leishmania: Transmitted by sandflies. Can cause hideous and painful sores
- Loa Loa: The adult Loa loa filarial worm migrates throughout the subcutaneous tissues of humans, occasionally crossing into subconjunctival tissues of the eye where it can be easily observed.
- Ascaris lumbricoides: An ascarid nematode of the phylum Nematoda, it is the largest and most common parasitic worm in humans, responsible for the disease ascariasis.
- Onchocerca volvulus: Long-term corneal inflammation, or keratitis, leads to thickening of the corneal stroma which ultimately leads to blindness.
- Toxoplasma gondii: Up to 50% of human brains are infected with this parasite
- Trypanosoma brucei: Victims have trouble sleeping, poor coordination, and are confused
- Entamoeba histolytica: One of the biggest parasitic killers on earth claiming 70,000 lives annually
- Trichuris trichiura: a worm that causes trichuriasis when it infects a human large intestine. It is commonly known as the whipworm which refers to the shape of the worm; it looks like a whip with wider “handles” at the posterior end.
- Wuchereria bancrofti: Causes Elephantiasis. Wuchereria is a human parasitic roundworm that is the major cause of lymphatic filariasis. It is one of the three parasitic worms, besides Brugia malayi and B. timori, that infect lymphatic system to cause lymphatic filariasis.
- Naegleria fowleri: Brain-eating amoeba. Typically found in warm bodies of fresh water, such as ponds, lakes, rivers, and hot springs. It is also found in soil, near warm-water discharges ofindustrial plants, and in poorly chlorinated, or unchlorinated swimming pools, in anamoeboid or temporary flagellate stage.
