What happened to parasite research?

[nerd]

In face of the current Ivermectin discussion, I'd like to reopen an old post in the context of chronic parasite infection.

Firstly, I'd like to cover the nematode Strongyloides Stercoralis. Here is one recent study that shows the prevalence in rural Cambodia and its chronified symptoms (10.1371/journal.pntd.0005685). It involves abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, urticaria, and cough. Since the chronic type of this parasite infection usually remains unnoticed, it can develop from a chronic to an opportunistic and severe co-infection.

So it's not surprising to find various reports of hyperinfection in COVID-19 patients once given immune suppression.

• Case Report: Disseminated Strongyloidiasis in a Patient with COVID-19 (10.4269/ajtmh.20-0699)
• Strongyloides infection manifested during immunosuppressive therapy for SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia (10.1007/s15010-020-01522-4)
• COVID-19 and Strongyloides (10.2139/ssrn.3766955)
• Risk of Strongyloides Hyperinfection Syndrome when prescribing dexamethasone in severe COVID-19 (10.1016/j.tmaid.2021.101981)
• COVID-19 and Dexamethasone - A Potential Strategy to Avoid Steroid-Related Strongyloides Hyperinfection (10.1001/jama.2020.13170)
• A parasitic infection that can turn fatal with administration of corticosteroids (WHO)

Secondly, there is this single finding of the hidden lungworm Cryptostrongylus Pulmoni in CFS patients (Kaplow, 2001, ISBN:0958186502). I'm so surprised that this has never been followed up or am I mistaken? After 20 years, nothing has happened to verify the work of Kaplow? Do we even know if this lungworm is real and not confused with another parasite? How common is it? Is it really possible that over 50% of CFS patients are infected with this opportunistic parasite? Given Kaplow's data, this parasite could live in symbiosis with pathogens that rely upon and/or induce immune-suppression as part of their pathogenesis. This not only includes herpes viruses but especially SARS viruses which spread in the lungs primarily.

Considering how prevalent these parasites might be, even in developed countries, I wonder how often this is really tested. Not only tested in COVID-19 patients but also "long haulers", patients with other chronic/recurring viral infections, with unspecific chronified symptoms, and with CFS/ME. The only chronic viral infection that has been cross-evaluated with S. Stercoralis is HIV (10.1371/journal.pntd.0001581). Except for this single case report of a triple infection of herpes, with a fungus and the parasite (10.1016/j.rmcr.2020.101330).

Do you know of any guidelines in which either of these parasites have been included as differential or co-diagnosis?
Does anyone know of case reports of people with chronic infections and/or chronic fatigue who were checked for these parasites (either negative or positive)?
Why do you think have these parasites never received a lot of research attention in the pre-COVID-19 era and even now?

 

[Hip]

Why do you think have these parasites never received a lot of research attention in the pre-COVID-19 era and even now?

Given that the symptoms of Strongyloides stercoralis don't really match those of ME/CFS, I cannot see any reason to test for this parasite in the context of ME/CFS, unless you are experiencing the symptoms, and have visited an area where this helminth is prevalent. There are thousands of different infections in the world, you cannot routinely test a patient for every one.

More than half of Strongyloides stercoralis cases are asymptomatic, so it often causes no observable issues. I read that over 90% of the population of Gabon are positive for Strongyloides stercoralis.

Like many helminths, Strongyloides stercoralis provides some protection against autoimmune diseases, one study found. It is the high prevalence of intestinal worms in Africa that is thought might explain the lower incidence of of autoimmune diseases on that continent.

A few ME/CFS patients on this forum have made major improvements with helminth therapy, by infecting themselves with the helminth Necator americanus. see here.


Helminth infections are very easy to kill, a single dose of ivermectin is usually enough. Ivermectin is a well-tolerated drug. So if you are concerned about a helminth infection, you can consider taking ivermectin, or an over the counter deworming agent that you can obtain from your local pharmacy.

 

[Steve.]

My understanding is the following. ICU over at curezone has published a protocols, which is a superset of the ivermectin albendazole (2 weeks on one off cycle) protocol:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strongyloides_stercoralis

"
Ideally, prevention, by improved sanitation (proper disposal of feces), practicing good hygiene (washing of hands), etc., is used before any drug regimen is administered.
Ivermectin is the drug of first choice for treatment because of higher tolerance in patients.[20] Thiabendazole was used previously, but, owing to its high prevalence of side effects (dizziness, vomiting, nausea, malaise) and lower efficacy, it has been superseded by ivermectin and as second-line albendazole. However, these drugs have little effect on the majority of these autoinfective larvae during their migration through the body. Hence, repeated treatments with ivermectin must be administered to kill adult parasites that develop from the autoinfective larvae. This means the full treatment dose of ivermectin every two weeks, to kill all non-larvae adult strongyloids before further reproduction leading to auto-infection, until all larvae capable of maturing into adult strongyloides are extirpated. Follow-up stool samples, potential additional treatment, and blood tests are necessary to guarantee cure.[21]
In the UK, mebendazole and piperazine are currently (2007) preferred.[22] Mebendazole has a much higher failure rate in clinical practice than albendazole, thiabendazole, or ivermectin.[23]


ChemoattractantEdit

This parasite depends on chemical cues to find a potential host. It uses sensor neurons of class AFD to identify cues excreted by the host.[24] S. stercoralis is attracted to nonspecific attractants of warmth, carbon dioxide, and sodium chloride. Urocanic acid, a component of skin secretions in mammals, is a major chemoattractant. Larvae of S. stercoralis are strongly attracted to this compound.[10] This compound can be suppressed by metal ions, suggesting a possible strategy for preventing infection."

The metal ions were calcium, manganese, and I forget if magnesium or if it was another one. They also don't like higher amounts of testosterone (exercise).


The stuff filtered down to the doctor's surgery, for things the medical profession doesn't understand, should be treated as potential para medicine. These things can survive with little affect in people with uncompromised health, until their health is compromised, then they hyperinfect, so as with age. They work through the body getting to heart or brain, and killing the person. Once hyper infection is reached, there is high probability of eventual death, as the go into a protective cyst form for up to years at a time. So, treatment is decades at least, or life. The simple treatment over a day or three, may just knock down the hyperinfection, and cause them to go into cyst mode, rather than get rid of them truely. Band-aid treatment.

I imagine the reason why people get relief from infection with the other worm mentioned, might be from gut chemical changes affecting gut bacterial types, but maybe out competing with other works like this.

Its possible that many mat have it, and it is killing them slowly. There is a link if similar types of early death between people with ME, Autism, Lyme's/Morgellons, which is thought to be be parasites. However, toxoplasmosis, is another one which spreads throughout the body, every organ, and the brain, over time, and I think as your immune goes down. The people with schizophrenia, have an abundance of these in the part of their brain affected by schizophrenia, they have found in post mortem studies in the last 5 or so years.

So, yes, people in general could be adversely affected here, but in a subliminal way, building over time.

Cardio myography is often caused by parasites. In disease, like here, and Chagas, the works keep trying to latch onto the heart muscle as they pass, destroying it over time, and heart failure in the 30's, 40's, 50's.