The Parasites of Forgotten Communities

BY COURTENEY MALIN – Seemingly, parasites are isolated to their hosts, only infecting and inconveniencing the organism to which they belong. However, parasites could influence their hosts beyond physical changes and influence populations that are not infected.

Babesiosis

Babesiosis is a tick-borne disease that affects red blood cells. While many tick-borne diseases have symptoms (Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Lyme Disease), babesiosis has no symptoms or presents a series of vague conditions that resemble those of the flu. The disease can secretly kill red blood cells and passes from one person to another through the blood. It has been shown to cause mood swings and emotional instability due to chemical changes, affecting the behavior of the host.

While the host of the parasite may not notice their symptoms, their blood recipients or children may. A mother can pass babesiosis to her child and a blood donor can pass the disease to a recipient since there is no donor screening. Without prominent symptoms, it is primarily detected in immunocompromised patients, lurking in the rest of the population.

Toxoplasma gondii

Toxoplasma gondii parasites enter the bloodstream and travel to the brain where they cause chemical changes associated with increased risk-taking, neuroticism, and an abundance of mental disorders. T. gondii can infect most mammals and works by hijacking immune cells to work to their benefit. They prevent immune cell retaliation just enough to keep themselves and their host alive. The immune system responds at a consistently slower rate, functioning without recognizing that its cells have been hijacked.

This hijacking parasite changes behavior. Mice infected with T. gondii run toward the scent of cat urine, advancing the life cycle of this parasite in the cat as soon as the mouse is digested in the cat’s intestines. Mice experience neuron death, less motor response, difficulty learning, and increased anxiety. Fear is impaired and decision making is sporadic, all of which are similar behavioral changes correlated with humans infected with the parasite.

Currently, 40 million people in the United States are thought to be infected, although most predictions range from one-third to one-half of the population. T. gondii can be acquired in undercooked food, from cats, water, soil, during organ transplantation, blood transfusion, or from mother to child.

Trypanosoma cruzi

T. cruzi, which causes Chagas disease, is transmitted by insects, mainly triatomine or the kissing bug. The parasites are transmitted through the insect’s feces if it enters the bloodstream, typically from scratching the insect bite. However, this parasite is also not detected in blood transfusions or organ transplantation and therefore can be transmitted from person to person in these cases. It can also be transferred congenitally from mother to baby. Chagas causes chronic heart problems and abdominal issues.

Chronically infected patients experience neurological behavioral changes that are independent of the behaviors normally associated with chronic illnesses. Patients show higher levels of anxiety and depression after infection, and research in mice has displayed changes in psychological stability as well as movement. However, there is still not enough information known about the effects of this parasite despite its northward spreading due to climate change.

This hijacking parasite changes behavior. Mice infected with T. gondii run toward the scent of cat urine, advancing the life cycle of this parasite in the cat as soon as the mouse is digested in the cat’s intestines. Mice experience neuron death, less motor response, difficulty learning, and increased anxiety. Fear is impaired and decision making is sporadic, all of which are similar behavioral changes correlated with humans infected with the parasite.

Currently, 40 million people in the United States are thought to be infected, although most predictions range from one-third to one-half of the population. T. gondii can be acquired in undercooked food, from cats, water, soil, during organ transplantation, blood transfusion, or from mother to child.

Trypanosoma cruzi

T. cruzi, which causes Chagas disease, is transmitted by insects, mainly triatomine or the kissing bug. The parasites are transmitted through the insect’s feces if it enters the bloodstream, typically from scratching the insect bite. However, this parasite is also not detected in blood transfusions or organ transplantation and therefore can be transmitted from person to person in these cases. It can also be transferred congenitally from mother to baby. Chagas causes chronic heart problems and abdominal issues.

Chronically infected patients experience neurological behavioral changes that are independent of the behaviors normally associated with chronic illnesses. Patients show higher levels of anxiety and depression after infection, and research in mice has displayed changes in psychological stability as well as movement. However, there is still not enough information known about the effects of this parasite despite its northward spreading due to climate change.

This hijacking parasite changes behavior. Mice infected with T. gondii run toward the scent of cat urine, advancing the life cycle of this parasite in the cat as soon as the mouse is digested in the cat’s intestines. Mice experience neuron death, less motor response, difficulty learning, and increased anxiety. Fear is impaired and decision making is sporadic, all of which are similar behavioral changes correlated with humans infected with the parasite.

Currently, 40 million people in the United States are thought to be infected, although most predictions range from one-third to one-half of the population. T. gondii can be acquired in undercooked food, from cats, water, soil, during organ transplantation, blood transfusion, or from mother to child.

Trypanosoma cruzi

T. cruzi, which causes Chagas disease, is transmitted by insects, mainly triatomine or the kissing bug. The parasites are transmitted through the insect’s feces if it enters the bloodstream, typically from scratching the insect bite. However, this parasite is also not detected in blood transfusions or organ transplantation and therefore can be transmitted from person to person in these cases. It can also be transferred congenitally from mother to baby. Chagas causes chronic heart problems and abdominal issues.

Chronically infected patients experience neurological behavioral changes that are independent of the behaviors normally associated with chronic illnesses. Patients show higher levels of anxiety and depression after infection, and research in mice has displayed changes in psychological stability as well as movement. However, there is still not enough information known about the effects of this parasite despite its northward spreading due to climate change.

Editor: Morenike Isola

Photography Source: https://www.eurekalert.org/multimedia/pub/181274.php?from=406613