Reader Wonders About Endoparasites Similar to Schistosoma

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“Have you seen these anywhere as endoparasites?” asks our reader about the matter pictured below. Our reader details the characteristics of an endoparasite, as well as the symptoms they cause for the hosts they take, and we will share that information with the rest of our readers today.

Before we get into the information our reader has kindly shared with us, we must preface this article by stating that we will unfortunately not be able to answer our reader’s question. As we are not medical professionals, it is neither within our capabilities nor our qualifications to identify parasites. This is because parasites cause symptoms in people, which need to be treated, and as such, an identification of a parasite is essentially a diagnosis. It is for the same reason that we cannot give any general medical advice.

In any case, we will nonetheless relay our reader’s context. Firstly, she states that “their life cycle seems to be similar to that of schistosomiasis (the condition caused by the parasite ‘schistosomes’).” Now, by “their”, we assume our reader is referring specifically to the organisms in the photo, and not to endoparasites in general. The term ‘endoparasites’ refers to any parasite that lives inside their host (such as tapeworms and roundworms), as opposed to ectoparasites, which live on the outside of their hosts (such as tics and fleas). Either way, our reader states that these creatures are similar to schistosomes, “in that they go to the lungs, travel up the esophagus, are swallowed, and then move on to the gastrointestinal tract.”

She also notes their similarity to lagochilascariasis, which is another condition caused by parasites. The parasites “move freely between tissues and organs and seem to occupy any and all parts of the body”. According to her, one can even track their movement through the body with the naked eye. She adds that symptoms from such an infection include “pressure, sharp cranial pains, and slight skin discoloration.”

“They also seem to have the Wolbachia bacteria as their digestive system, making the patient very ill when die-off occurs.” She adds that little to no treatment for this condition has proven effective, “and the list of treatments prescribed thus far is extensive.”

Now, our reader does not disclose if she is personally suffering from the condition she details, but, in any case, we will list some resources she can use to consult a medical parasitologist. So, if our reader wants to consult a medical professional who specializes in this area, then we recommend that she do one or more of the following:

1) Search for a medical parasitologist in her area using this directory of medical parasitology consultants: https://www.astmh.org/for-astmh-members/clinical-consultants-directory.
2) Search for a local parasitologist by doing a Google search for “medical parasitologist (name of the closest big city)” or “tropical medicine specialist (name of the closest big city)”.
3) Get in touch with Dr. Omar Amin at the Parasitology Center at https://www.parasitetesting.com.

Whichever option she goes for, we urge our reader to bring the photo she sent us, as well as all of the context she provided us, to her consultation.

To conclude, we cannot answer our reader’s question, since we are not medical professionals. For that reason, we suggest that our reader get in touch with a medical parasitologist to get the answers she wants from a qualified source. We hope we could help in some way, and we wish our reader the very best!

 

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Reader Wonders About Endoparasites Similar to Schistosoma
Article Name
Reader Wonders About Endoparasites Similar to Schistosoma
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"Have you seen these anywhere as endoparasites?" asks our reader about the matter pictured below. Our reader details the characteristics of an endoparasite, as well as the symptoms they cause for the hosts they take, and we will share that information with the rest of our readers today.
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Author: Worm Researcher Anton

2 thoughts on “Reader Wonders About Endoparasites Similar to Schistosoma

  1. I have exhausted all but the resources advised, a
    parasitoligist.
    I’d be real curious to know if any of us have,and if so does the buck stop there?

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