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Detecting Parasites

Detecting Parasites

by | Jan 1, 2022

Post Categories: Chronic and Infectious Diseases | Health Conditions | Preventive Care for Children

Many of us have heard about illnesses caused by giardia and other parasites, but we tend to overlook connections between these microbes and digestive disease. According to the Centers for Disease Control, microscopic parasites probably cause more than 90 percent of all parasitic infections in the United States. Many doctors believe that we may be seriously underestimating parasites as contributors to disease. And then there are those that dismiss parasites as contributors to adverse health effects in the US. Worldwide, however, infectious diarrhea due to cholera, amoebas, giardia, and blastocystis, among others, is the second leading cause of death, fatal to at least 3 million people a year (Amin, 2005b). The burden of human infections with parasites worldwide is summarized below (Amin, 2017).

DiseaseHuman infectionsAnnual deaths
Malaria489 million1 – 2 million
All worms4.5 billion 
Ascaris1.0 billion20 thousands
Hookworms900 million50 – 60 thousands
Whipworms750 million 
Filarial worms657 million20 – 50+ thousands
Schistosomes200 million0.5 – 1.0 million

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Author

Omar M. Amin, BSc, MSc, PhD

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