More on Trypanosomes (Are you tired of them yet?)
The parasites name comes from the Greek word "tryoanon", which means augur. They are about twice as long as a red blood cell and are silvery under a microscope. They have flat, strip-like bodies and they spin as they swim, sort of like how a drill bit spins in a power drill.
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| Trypanosomes In a Blood Sample |
"Onchocerca volvulus"
These parasites are coiled worms as long as snakes and as thin as threads. They live and reproduce for 10 years inside marble-sized nodes under the skin. Their little baby worms travel through a hosts skin, get picked up by black flies, mature in the bellies of the black flies, and are introduced to a new host when the fly bites a victim and they make a node of their very own. As the little wormies pass through the unfortunate host's skin, they trigger violent immune system attacks. But is the parasite harmed? No! It's the host that bears the blow of the immune system. The immune system irritates the skin and makes itchy rashes appear. They can get so itchy that the host may even scratch themself to death. Think life is bad, well it gets worse, just keep reading! Now there is a chance that the worms will make their way to the outer layer of the eye and trigger a red alert for the immune system there. The immune system does what it does, but leaves scar tissue in its path, which may leave the host/victim blind. The Onchocerca volvulus larvae are aquatic and the black flies just love throwing parties around bodies of water. This is where the disease gets the name "River Blindness"! In Sudan, it is common for people over 40 years old to become blind do to this parasite and disease.
Oh my! I cringed so many times while reading this and other blog posts. Parasites are truly icky and not very fun at all! Yuck! How can you stand to read about them? It's very interesting, I must say, but it is just so...ew. Have a good day!
ReplyDeleteWow! Thats very disturbing! I dont think id want to go anywhere near where those worms are , i couldnt even imagine someone scratching themselves to death or going blind over a tiny parasitic worm.
ReplyDeleteWow thats pretty gross. Does the book say how many people are attacked by this parasite (the volvulus one)?
ReplyDeleteZimmer says in the book that there are some places in Sudan where every person over the age of 40 has this parasite (they have river blindness). It's sort of a sad fact, but I guess it't just the way of life in some places.
DeleteThe worm parasites scare me! They can be as long as snakes?!?! That's really strange, but kind of cool. They should have had this parasite on one of the Saw movies- scratching yourself to death! That is really freaky. I think doing something like that to yourself is the worst- instead of a parasite eating you away or something. I do like hearing about different parasites though. Although vomit-worthy, I believe it's really interesting to learn about.
ReplyDeleteUhm, I'm never going to Sudan. That is creepy and weird. How could people not know about the critters befre they pop out? It must also be tourture to with stand all of that. Also scratching yourself to dealth is a bit crazy.
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