Sue Visser

Common threadworms, known technically as Strongyloides stercoralis are everywhere. More ubiquitous than coronaviruses by far, they are actually co-conspirators when it comes to inflammation and acute respiratory failure syndrome. Their life cycle is complex, and their larvae can penetrate either your intestinal mucosa or the skin of the perianal area, resulting in autoinfection. Most of us are unwittingly hosting these critters and infecting ourselves and others on a continuous basis. So be warned, you barefoot lovers of cats and dogs, gardeners, and anybody who breathes, with or without a mask!

Once the filariform larvae re-infect the host, they are carried to the lungs, pharynx, and small intestine as well as other destinations throughout the body. (No masks or sanitizers will help in this respect.) Untreated cases can result in persistent infections and are an underlying cause of intestinal as well as respiratory afflictions that are exacerbated by inflammation. Because these two zones are also the seat of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, one wonders if there is a connection to parasitic worms.

Long-term use of corticosteroids can result in immune suppression. A Strongyloides stercoralis (threadworm) infection may either remain dormant or it may progress to a state of hyper-infection, for example, the case of a 70-year-old Nigerian, on long-term corticosteroid treatment who developed fatal ARDS (acute respiratory distress syndrome) despite 19 days of mechanical ventilation and appropriate antifungal therapy.¹ This common threadworm can affect every organ in the body. ARDS is generally overlooked as a complication of a Strongyloides hyper-infection and is often mistaken for pneumonia. Immediate diagnosis and treatment are important for patient survival as it is usually deadly at this stage. However, not many doctors would consider treating it with mebendazole.

Then along came the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, and we blame the virus for this sort of scenario—but how does it really happen? Parasites in the lungs are very common albeit not readily diagnosed. When exposed to a virus that exacerbates inflammation, the resultant worm-induced ARDS requires more than an anti-viral drug—or even a ventilator to treat it. Simple worm remedies—OTC products that double up as antiviral multi-taskers against SARS-CoV-2—have been glossed over because today only ivermectin is on everybody’s lips. But how does it compare with a simple OTC like mebendazole?

Ivermectin is active against various life-cycle stages of many—but not all the nematodes. As a remedy for threadworm infections within the lungs, its activity against Strongyloides stercoralis is limited to the intestinal stages. That means that these worms, now triggered by SARS-CoV-2 will exacerbate inflammation, but at least this tried and trusted parasite remedy will exert its anti-viral effects. This may explain why many, but not all people,² have been successfully treated. Dosage guidelines indicate that ivermectin is not suitable for pediatric use, for elderly folk, or those taking chronic medications, especially anticoagulants.³ In some countries it has not been approved.⁴

Many successful antiviral drugs, such as those that fight HIV and hepatitis C, are protease inhibitors, according to Dr Sadek, who used computer modelling in May 2020 to screen a few more conventional drugs.⁵ He focused on their ability to bind to protein-sensitive pockets on the SARS-CoV-2 virus to act as protease inhibitors.

1. Atovaquone, an anti-malarial drug also used to treat toxoplasmosis, babesiosis, and Pneumocystic pneumonia
2. Mebendazole, a cheap OTC drug that’s used to treat several different parasitic worm infections
3. Dronedarone, a cardiac drug, specifically used for maintaining heart rhythms. (Not for everybody.)

As anti-SARS-CoV-2 candidates, all three of them effectively controlled viral replication in vitro and in vivo in doses similar to or significantly lower than drugs that are currently used. Atovaquone also has well established anti-viral activity against other RNA viruses and can be used to treat a number of infectious diseases, including those that affect the lungs. Human and animal studies are underway. As an existing drug, it is worth considering for severely infected SARS-CoV-2 patients.

Disseminated (migratory) strongyloidiasis has a high mortality rate, yet early diagnosis and treatment can cure it. In an immunocompromised host, larval migration to the lungs may easily occur. A patient with symptoms COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) similar to pneumonia may stagger into a hospital during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, for instance. However, they may be also infected with worms that exacerbate inflammation. Finding Strongyloides larvae in stool, sputum, and urine samples will confirm the presence of such a parasite. In 2019 a patient thus diagnosed was treated successfully with mebendazole.⁶

For worm infestations in the chest, corticosteroids, mechanical ventilation, ivermectin, and so on are no match for mebendazole. None of these prescribed—and often cumbersome treatments can stop the worms from breeding or entering the lungs. Yet we can buy mebendazole (eg: Combantrin) from the local drugstore. It is ten times cheaper than ivermectin and now we know it is an effective weapon against the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic as well as cancer, being effective against most of the cell lines.⁷ The reason it is such a popular and cheap remedy is because it has few, if any side effects apart from the typical die-off reactions such as nausea or diarrhea.  Now I’m off to the drug store!

References

1. Nnaoma C, et al. The Worm That Clogs the Lungs: Strongyloides Hyper-Infection Leading to Fatal Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS). Am J Case Rep.  2019 Mar 22;20:377-380.
2. https://www.news24.com/witness/news/pietermaritzburg/two-people-end-up-in-icu-after-ivermectin-overdose-in-pietermaritzburg-20210116
3. https://www.drugs.com/drug-interactions/ivermectin.html
4. https://www.covid19treatmentguidelines.nih.gov/therapies/antiviral-therapy/ivermectin/
5. https://www.news-medical.net/news/20200519/Three-FDA-approved-drugs-can-block-the-replication-of-COVID-19-virus.aspx
6. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8672946/ 
7. https://www.cancertreatmentsresearch.com/the-over-the-counter-drug-mebendazole-acts-like-chemotherapy-but-with-virtually-no-side-effects/

Published June 3, 2023

About the Author

Sue Visser is the health researcher and product developer for Nature Fresh Health Products. She has developed over 45 products, beginning with her unique Calcium Complex formulation in 1997. With over 25 years of experience in complementary and especially traditional medicine, Sue shares her articles freely with doctors (SA Medical Academic) and other publications. For many years, Sue has given free presentations, radio shows, workshops and has appeared in the two TV series on local herbs (Nature’s Health – 2007 and 2009). She is the author of two books and dozens of research papers and published articles. Sue investigates current health trends, products and modalities on a constant basis and interacts with fellow South Africans at all levels to learn more about their health issues. Artemisia annua and other anti-malarial species, especially Olea Europa/Afra have now come to the fore as treatments for Covid-19. The new Nature Fresh prototypes are having very successful results with viral infections by using herbs that treat malaria.  Contact: sue@naturefresh.co.za ; info@naturefresh.co.za