IgE antibodies are found attached to mast cells where they act as receptors for any substance that may have been produced by, or is attached to, a multi-cellular parasite. Released inappropriately these substances are also responsible for allergic responses and can cause asthma and damage the lining of the airways. The eosinophils bind to the worms and release toxins from their granules in order to kill them. One involves specialised white blood cells known as eosinophils and the other is the IgE antibody response. For its part, the immune system of the body has evolved two specific responses to parasitic worm infections. Parasitic worms and their larvae have evolved considerable defences with thick, armoured outer layers, fearsome mouthparts and well-developed muscles which enable them to penetrate and survive inside their host. Since the female adult fluke lays her eggs around the anal area, the application of clear tape to the anal area first thing in the morning will recover the eggs of the blood fluke as well as those from beef and pork tapeworm. Urine testing will also evidence blood fluke eggs in the urine sediment. Many doctors dismiss the elevated eosiniphil count as being caused by allergies, not realising that the primary allergen is the parasite itself. Even certain drugs will raise the white blood cell count. This is only a general indicator as the host may have other parasites such as hookworm, pinworms, roundworm, strongyloides, tapeworm and/or toxocara. To evidence the presence of flukes in humans a blood test will reveal an elevated white blood cell (eosiniphil) count. More worrying still is the growing practice in allopathic medicine for actively infecting people with parasites in order to quell unwanted immune responses such as allergies and autoimmune diseases.
Meanwhile the true cause goes unidentified and untreated.
This may involve medicating the symptoms with antibiotics and/or steroids which at best may not be helpful and at worst extremely counterproductive. However, with air travel to exotic locations now commonplace for business and/or pleasure, the diagnosis of parasitic infections in often overlooked by doctors in the developed world.įailing to recognise the true cause, doctors may attribute gastrointestinal symptoms to the woolly 'irritable bowel syndrome' and there may ensue a fruitless attempt to suppress individual symptoms. Pigs in particular tend to contract parasitic worm infections due to their undiscriminating tastes and snuffling around in the dirt and the avoidance of pork, common to Judaism and Islam, was probably originally good health advice due to the likelihood of contracting a parasitic infection.ĭoctors still tend to think of parasitic infections as being primarily tropical diseases and it is true that parasitic infections are a huge problem in tropical regions. Obvious because of dometic pets, such as cats and dogs, which have to be regularly de-wormed once a month. Wild mammals also tend to be infected with multiple species of parasites and this is It is perfectly possible for humans to have several parasitic infections and to be largely unaware of the issue as they may only suffer occasional digestive problems or headaches. Human parasitic infections were documented 5000 years ago in Egyptian papyrus records and later ,in Ancient Greece, both Hippocrates and Aristotle also extensively documented the problem. This is not a new problem and there is evidence of human parasitic infection dating back to antiquity with 7000 year old hookworm eggs found in remains from Brazil, 4500 year old roundworm eggs found in Peruvian remains and tapeworm eggs and filarial worms found in Egyptian mummies dating back 4000 years. It is estimated that roundworm has infected 1.5 billion people, hookworm just over 1 billion and whipworm 1.3 billion people globally. Some estimates claim that up to 75% of the world's population has some form of parasitic intestinal worm infection and parasitic infections are certainly one of the primary causes of illness and death in the developing world. The majority of parasitic infections are caused by either single-celled organisms or a variety of worms from the microscopic to a metre long. Most natural health practitioners agree that parasitic infections are grossly underestimated as the cause of disease and suffering in humans. Children are more infested with these worms than adults. However, they are more common in tropical and subtropical areas and are widely prevalent during the rainy seasons. Worms, and other intestinal parasites which infest human beings, are found in all countries of the world even in the UK.
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