Theileria parasites are considered as the smartest among the
Toxoplasma gondii exerts a strange sort of mind control on rodents: Once infected with the brain parasite, they seem to lose their fear of cats and become more likely to get eaten. When they are, the microbe can make its way into the feline intestine to reproduce.
The body-snatching barnacle
The Sacculina carcini parasite holds so much power over its crustacean hosts, it even tricks them into caring for it as lovingly as they would their own young. Found wherever there are large crab populations, the female parasite larva seeks out an unwitting host and sheds its own hard shell.
Cysticercosis is a parasitic tissue infection caused by larval cysts of the tapeworm Taenia solium. These larval cysts infect brain, muscle, or other tissue, and are a major cause of adult onset seizures in most low-income countries.
When tapeworms and roundworms set up camp in a body, they give their host's immune system a boost. The body attacks the invader while simultaneously issuing orders to ensure the immune response doesn't get out of hand.
Nonpathogenic intestinal protozoa are single-celled parasites commonly found in the intestinal tract but never associated with illness.
Parasites influence host immunity
Some chronic illnesses of humans – including allergies and autoimmune diseases – have been linked to a lack of exposure to parasites, particularly worms (the “hygiene hypothesis”; Okada et al.
There are two kinds of common parasitic infections:
Pinworms, whipworms, and hookworms are all types of roundworms (1) that can cause digestive problems, mood swings, abdominal pain, brain fog, and weight loss.
Brain worm is the term commonly applied to the parasitic nematode (round worm), Parelaphostrongylus tenuis (P. tenuis). White-tailed deer are the normal host for this parasite. Most of the time, they are not affected by the parasite.
The Spirometra tapeworm can live in humans for up to 20 years.
They found the oldest fossil evidence of a parasite ever, in 540 million-year-old rocks in Yunnan Province, China. The rocks date to the Cambrian period, when complex life was first appearing on Earth.
"Tongue worms" (Pentastomida), a parasite still found today, have a fossil record stretching back hundreds of millions of years.
gondii infection can alter human behavior. Because the parasite infects the brain, it is suspected of making people more reckless, even being liable for certain cases of schizophrenia (Fuglewicz et al., 2017). However, such a hypothesis is still highly controversial and will require more investigations.
Toxoplasma causes infected cells that should not travel in the body to move quickly, allowing the parasite to spread to different organs. Toxoplasma has been described as converting immune cells into Trojan horses or wandering “zombies” that spread the parasite.
Toxoplasma: the parasite that takes over our brains.
Naegleria fowleri infections are rare.* In the United States, between zero and five cases were diagnosed annually from 2013 to 2022.
Why? Most people do not know they are infected or at risk, or don't have access to appropriate care. And often, health care providers are unfamiliar with these parasitic infections, and may not diagnose or treat them appropriately.
The Mind Worm, a species of ten centimeter mottled worms, is the dominant species on Planet Chiron. The Mind Worm is a terrifying creature, able to use powerful psi attacks to paralyze its prey. Mind Worms travel in huge swarms called "Boils", which can range from tiny Hatchling Boils to massive Demon Boils.
Toxoplasmosis, which is caused by infection with the Toxoplasma gondii (T.
Parasite infections can be a cause of mental illness through biological and socio-environmental paths. The inflammation caused by parasite infections affects the brain and CNS via the blood brain barrier, activation of the vagus nerve and immune cells.
Parasitic infection of the spine is a rare condition. The most common parasites affecting the spinal canal include cysticercosis, schistosomiasis, toxoplasmosis and echinococcal disease, and are much more frequent in the developing countries of Asia and Africa [8].
There would be negative effects on biodiversity as the number of species dwindled. Host populations could also overrun an area just like cane toads, and with too many individuals and too little food to support them all, the population would cave in on itself.
Parasites exist, and it is estimated that the majority of people may have parasites in their bodies.
But only 4% of known parasites can infect humans, and the majority actually serve critical ecological roles, like regulating wildlife that might otherwise balloon in population size and become pests.