Intestinal parasites are one of the most successful creatures in the evolutionary process. Successful in that this organism has remained pretty much unchanged from its primitive origins and has adapted to create several slightly different versions of itself. The success of the intestinal parasite however, has not been to our benefit. The human body may play host to over a hundred different types of these protozoa and/or helminths, some of them causing irritating and annoying symptoms of discomfort others capable of causing death.

Infestation by intestinal parasites may occur from direct contamination in foodstuffs or through contact with fomites (surfaces upon which the parasites can survive for a short time, ‘object or substances capable of carrying infectious organisms’) Air borne, water borne or directly from food that has been exposed to untreated sewage (solid and liquid), intestinal parasites don’t find it hard to make their way into the human body to live a life of uninterrupted luxury where the host provides for their every need.

Defined medically as, ‘An organism that grows, feeds and is sheltered on or in another organism, while contributing nothing to the survival of it’, intestinal parasites chose the human gut as their retirement home. The parasitic behavior drains the host of nutrients intended for its benefit and the breeding and feeding by parasites produce unwelcome by-products in the process, often toxic.

It may surprise you to know that the World Health Organisation Assembly Resolution 54.19 of 2001 has data not only for Africa, where soil transmitted helminths are widespread, but the world map highlights areas of the south west coast of the north American continent and the west coast of Scotland as endemic areas. Eating produce that has been grown in soil contaminated with helminths will result in the transfer of the parasite to you. Washing the produce will clean any dirt from it but there is still the possibility of these microscopic organisms clinging to the fruit or vegetable, particularly leafy varieties.

Another of the major concerns of WHO is the control of ‘schistosmiasis’, a debilitating and potentially fatal water bound disease, also known as ‘bilharziasis’. It is second only to malaria for diseases. Water snails are the intermediate hosts for this parasite and their excretory processes contaminate water with ‘cercariae’ that can survive for 48 hours outside their host.

Research into intestinal parasites has usually come from those working in tropical medicine but it is now evident that parasites are not exclusive to under developed countries. Due to refugee migration, people having suffered unsanitary conditions for a long time quite often before they reach safety, agricultural run off from flooding discharging oocytes (in cattle excrement) from cryptosporidium into the rivers and thereby the fresh water supply system, a parasite can easily enter a host to continue its life cycle. Cryptosporidosis was first discovered when AIDS sufferers, with their compromised immune system, died from diarrhea as a result of cryptosporidium having entered their bodies.

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