Parasitic infections cause many human diseases, including widespread ones like Malaria (Plasmodium parasite, mosquito-borne), intestinal issues from worms (tapeworms, roundworms, pinworms), and others like Toxoplasmosis, Chagas disease, Leishmaniasis, and Trichomoniasis, affecting millions globally through contaminated water, food, insects, or sexual contact.
The most common parasitic infections include: Malaria. Toxoplasmosis. Head lice.
Common global water-related diseases caused by parasites include Guinea worm, schistosomiasis, amebiasis, cryptosporidiosis (Crypto), and giardiasis. People become infected with these diseases when they swallow or have contact with water that has been contaminated by certain parasites.
Giardia is arguably the most common parasite infection of humans worldwide, and the second most common in the United States after pin-worm.
Examples of parasites include:
Slideshow: World's worst parasitic worms
Knowing if you have parasites involves recognizing symptoms like digestive issues (diarrhea, bloating, pain), unexplained weight loss, fatigue, skin rashes, or muscle aches, but often infections are subtle or asymptomatic, so a doctor's diagnosis through stool samples or blood tests is crucial for confirmation, especially if you have persistent symptoms like fever, extreme fatigue, or blood in your stool.
Here are the eight most common signs of parasitic infection:
Here are five potentially deadly parasites you should keep on your radar.
Harold Brown, the late former parasitology professor at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, frequently referred to Ascaris, Trichuris, and hookworms as “the unholy trinity” to indicate that it was extremely common for a child to be infected with all three parasites simultaneously.
A parasite is an organism that lives on or in a host organism and gets its food from or at the expense of its host. There are three main classes of parasites that can cause disease in humans: protozoa, helminths, and ectoparasites.
If you continue to experience symptoms like stomach cramps and pain, nausea or vomiting, dehydration, weight loss, and digestive problems, including unexplained constipation, diarrhea, or persistent gas even after trying several treatments, you may have a parasite.
Rare parasitic diseases involving the CNS are paragonimiasis, malaria, toxocariasis, onchocerciasis, American trypanosomiasis [Chagas disease (CD)], human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) and angiostrongyliasis [4].
Parasitic Diseases
Chronic parasite infection can alter the commensal flora of the gut, resulting in reduced airway inflammation/allergy and inflammatory bowel disease.
Chagas disease is often called a silent killer because many people don't realize they have it until complications from the infection kill them.
Not only a killer parasite, but one of the world's biggest killers, the malaria parasite is responsible for around 600,000 deaths a year. Their hosts and carriers, female mosquitos of the anopheles genus, are consequently considered to be one of the deadliest animals to humans and the world's deadliest insect.
T. gondii may exist in a host as an inactive cyst that would likely evade detection, with some studies finding evidence that latent toxoplasmosis (in non-HIV patients) might play a role in causing mental disorders like schizophrenia, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.
10 Warning Signs of Parasitic Infections
Some of the most common signs of a parasitic infection include:
The following food safety tips can help reduce the risk of a parasitic infection: Foods to avoid with parasites include raw or undercooked meats, poultry, fish, seafood, and eggs. Don't eat unwashed fruits and vegetables.
Blood smear This test is used to look for parasites that are found in the blood. By looking at a blood smear under a microscope, parasitic diseases such as filariasis, malaria, or babesiosis, can be diagnosed. This test is done by placing a drop of blood on a microscope slide.