Parasites

Latest about parasites

An ocean wave over sand.

Teen Gets Hookworm from Florida Beach Sand

By Rachael Rettner published

A Tennessee teen's summer trip to Florida turned nightmarish after he contracted hookworms from playing in sand at the beach.

Viruses, Infections & Disease
salmon, fillet, fish

Salmon with a Side of Squirm: Woman Finds Wriggling Worm in Fillet

By Sara G. Miller published

It's not the type of garnish you want on your salmon: a translucent, wriggling worm.

Viruses, Infections & Disease
A newly discovered wasp from the Amazon.

Amazon Wasp with Enormous Stinger May Just Haunt Your Nightmares

By Kimberly Hickok published

She may be small, but check out that stinger!

Bees & Wasps
The parasite <em>Cyclospora</em> can cause intestinal illness. Above, an image taken with a microscope showing <em>Cyclospora</em> eggs (red) in a stool sample.

Dozens Fall Ill in Texas Outbreak: What Is Cyclospora?

By Rachael Rettner published

So far, Texas health officials have identified 56 illnesses due to Cyclospora since May.

Viruses, Infections & Disease
An ocean wave over sand.

Beachgoers Beware? 5 Pathogens That Lurk In Sand

By Rachael Rettner published

Beach sand can harbor a number of bacteria, parasites and fungi that are linked with diseases.

Viruses, Infections & Disease
A woman in Russia found a lump on her face that turned out to be a parasitic worm crawling under her skin. The lump first appeared under the woman's eye (Panel A), and then moved above her eye (Panel B), before migrating to her upper lip (Panel C). Doctor

A Weird Lump on a Woman's Face Turned Out to Be a Worm Crawling Under Her Skin

By Rachael Rettner published

When a woman in Russia noticed a small lump under her left eye, she snapped a selfie. Then, the lump moved.

Viruses, Infections & Disease
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See How Brain Worms Turn Ants into the Walking Dead

By Mindy Weisberger published

Can you wrap your mind around the idea of an ant brain with a worm in it?

Animals
This parasitic ant, called <i>Megalomyrmex symmetochus</i>, crashes colonies of fungus-farming ants (<i>Sericomyrmex amabilis</i>), eating their crops and killing their babies.

Baby-Eating Ants Use Espionage, Chemical Warfare To Score Free Rent

By Brandon Specktor published

Worst. Roommates. Ever.

Insects
An image of an adult whipworm, taken with a scanning electron microscope. New research finds that these parasites have their own gut bacteria.

These Gut Bugs Need Their Own Gut Bugs

By Rachael Rettner published

It's a Russian nesting doll of sorts: Parasitic bugs that live in the human gut have their own set of gut bugs inside their intestines.

Viruses, Infections & Disease
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How Swallowing a Slug Left a Teen Paralyzed

By Mindy Weisberger published

An Australian teenager who ate a garden slug on a dare was infected by a parasite that caused a debilitating brain disease, leaving him paralyzed from the neck down.

Viruses, Infections & Disease
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