Parasites plagued Roman soldiers at Hadrian's Wall

(arstechnica.com)

27 points by sipofwater7 days ago

3 comments

tsol1 hour ago
Parasites used to be ubiquitous before we had medication to kill them. There's even a (not very well supported) theory that these parasites helped with allergies by moderating immune system. They releasing chemicals to lower immune activity in order to protect themselves, so the idea that we had these for thousands of years and basically are made to have them is intriguing. It's called "helminthic therapy" and it's considered alternative medicine but there is some academic interest. Results in clinical trials have been mixed. Perhaps the future is just synthetic hookworm proteins that regulate your immune system as our ancestors once had.
- IneffablePigeon1 hour ago
  My partner researches one parasite named in this study (a type of whipworm) and they actually get their eggs for in vitro work from another researcher abroad who infected himself with the parasite because he finds it helps with his autoimmune disease. He harvests the eggs and distributes them to other teams.
- patmorgan236 minutes ago
  Doesn't seem too off from gut micro biome theories.
eszed2 hours ago
I find that observation unsurprising. What would be more interesting is the relative incidence between outlying forts and interior urban centres. The article mentions a couple of papers on urban fecal matter, so maybe that answer is available. I can create hypothetical cases for either location to be higher or lower than the other.
Epa0952 hours ago
I live with amazing technology all around me, and I often take it for granted. But whenever I take mebendazol (against e.g. pinworm) I think about my ancestors, and how they just had to live with it!
- alistairSH1 hour ago
 Why are you taking anti-parasitics regularly?
 - giardini52 minutes ago
 b/c he lives someplace where people get parasites regularly? Also b/c it is cheaper and easier to treat for parasites (take a pill) than to test and then treat (visit a doctor, get a prescription, take a pill).Many parasites are endemic to the southern USA. As a child I was checked for parasites every year. Most modern doctors I've met are negligent in this regard. Under questioning several have stated that it is unimportant. Some doctors assert incorrectly that blood tests would reveal any significant parasitic infestation. I always correct them but I also change doctors b/c medical school seems to "harden" the brain - nothing new can be learned once they have graduated.Ever walk barefoot across the lawn?Ever eat uncooked fish/flesh/sushi?Ever own/pet a cat?If so, you might want to get tested!8-))Neglected Parasitic Infections: What Family Physicians Need to Know—A CDC Update:<a href="https://www.aafp.org/pubs/afp/issues/2021/0900/p277.html" rel="nofollow">https://www.aafp.org/pubs/afp/issues/2021/0900/p277.html</a>
 - jasonwatkinspdx48 minutes ago
 At least in the US parasite risk from sushi is very low because nearly all seafood sold/served is put through a deep freeze cycle.But if you're slicing up something you just caught that could be an issue. It's a concern with hunting/game as well. Most people who get trichinosis in the US get it from eating bear apparently.
 - giardini45 minutes ago
 I crossed bear off my menu a long time ago! To my chagrin, the bears did not reciprocate.
 - yes_man1 hour ago
 Not OP but one reason is having young kids that can’t help bringing home everything that is spreading in daycare/kindergarten
 - dpark1 hour ago
 Are there areas in the developed world where this is common? I’ve never heard of anyone regularly taking anti parasitic medication because their kids kept bringing home parasites from daycare. I had a friend whose son was prescribed medicine for pinworms once when he was fairly young (mostly as a precaution).
 - Epa0951 hour ago
 <pre><code> Pinworms are particularly common in children, with prevalence rates in this age group having been reported as high as 61% in India, 50% in England, 39% in Thailand, 37% in Sweden, and 29% in Denmark. [1] </code></pre> Remember that<pre><code> prevalence is the proportion of a particular population found to be affected by a medical condition (typically a disease or a risk factor such as smoking or seatbelt use) at a specific time. </code></pre> So it is not just that percentage has had it at any point in their life, it is that percentage that has it at any time.And yes, kids. Pinworm is literally called 'children worm' here.1: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinworm_(parasite)#burkhart2005" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinworm_(parasite)#burkhart200...</a>
 - gehsty57 minutes ago
 <a href="https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/threadworm/background-information/prevalence/" rel="nofollow">https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/threadworm/background-informa...</a>NICE estimate 20-30% of kids 4-11 have an infestation. I have three kids in this bracket and yeh this tracks
 - SvenL31 minutes ago
 Yes, it’s fairly common infection in children. I mean they don’t wash carefully their hands, they put everything in their mouth - it would be a real surprise if they would not catch it.
 - exasperaited25 minutes ago
 I believe I know an immune-compromised adult who was taking anti-parasitics for more than two years due to workplace (care context) reinfections. I say “believe” because these are two things people talk about in coded, careful ways. It might be a little more common than polite conversation ever really reveals.For example if you know anyone who raised concerns about antivaxxers causing short supply of ivermectin formulations for human use during the pandemic. More or less anyone who knew what ivermectin was at that point in time was either a farmer, a vetinarian, a doctor… or a patient with a condition.