human hotel (aka let me unleash my newfound knowledge on your unsuspecting asses)

this past week we blazed through a mini-parasitology course here at school, and got the run-down on some of the creatures that inhabit our bodies. it shouldn't come as a surprise that we have some long-term guests - there are actually 10x more bacteria living inside of you than the number of cells in your own body. but, the parasites are unique in their grossness.

example: the pork tapeworm. this guy (check out the suckers) usually attaches itself to a pig's intestines and happily feasts on whatever food bits come its way. some of the larvae can crawl to the muscle or other organs and develop into cysts. then, when you eat undercooked pig, you get a tapeworm of your very own. not so bad unless the larvae form cysts in your brain.


you are much less likely to meet this next friend in your lifetime. Wuchereria bancrofti, aka filaria, is found only in africa and south america, where mosquitos carry it around from person to person. this wormy-looking dude looks a little gross, but it's microscopic. it tends to hang out in lymph nodes and can cause fluid accumulation. which, if it happens again and again, can lead to some serious difficulties (note - a google image search for elephantiasis will bring you to much more disgusting images than i was willing to post on this blog):

last and definitely not least: the guinea worm (Dracunculus medinensis) (aka "the fiery serpent"). a roundworm that gets into your body when you drink unfiltered water (which has small crustaceans infected by said worm). the larvae enter the wall of your gut, find a mate, and reproduce. and then, the pregnant worm needs to find a way out - for instance, poking a hole in your skin and sticking its uterus through it for all to see (and to get its eggs to fresh water). this apparently burns like hell, hence the fiery serpent.

the bad news: there is no treatment aside from wrapping the emerging worm around a stick and waiting for it to completely emerge (which can take weeks!). the good news: the carter center has actually been very instrumental in fighting to eradicate Dracunculus from countries where it is still is poking out of people's legs (only six countries left to go!)

so let me sum up with the important lessons here : 1) cook your pig well, 2) boil water when traveling, and 3) big balls are not always a good thing.