
A third of parasite species could vanish - Mz
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/parasites-are-going-extinct-heres-why-thats-a-bad-thing-180964808/?no-ist
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tim333
>a tapeworm species foreign to humans was found in a man’s brain in China,
leading to seizures and inflammation of the brain.

A few more of those things vanishing is fine by me. Maybe they could DNA
sequence them first.

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Mz
Yeah. Additionally:

The article presents this as some weird thing due to it being a species not
normal for humans. My college biology professor said that where they end up in
the body has to do with how you get exposed. If you are exposed through the
usual route, they end up in the usual places. If you get exposed some other
way, she told us _it can be worse, they can end up in places like the brain._

I don't know how to google a citation backing that up (I tried). But I
remember my professor specifically mentioning they can end up in the brain.

~~~
ufo
Tapeworms are a two stage parasite. The adult phase lives in the intestine of
predators (like us). The larval phase stays dormant inside cysts embedded
inside the meat of herbivores.

The adult tapeworm leeches nutrients from the intestine and lays tons of eggs,
which go into the feces. These eggs then contaminate the environment and end
up being eaten by herbivores. The eggs hatch inside their stomach and the
larva embed themselves in the meat of the herbivore (and can even get in the
brain). Finally, when the predator consumes uncooked meat contaminated with
tapeworm larva, these larva further develop into adult tapeworms.

Each species of tapeworm is tuned to a specific species of herbivore. Cow
tapeworm eggs often go right past us because they expect a tougher stomach
than ours but pig tapeworm eggs can get confused because our stomach is
similar to a pig's. Their larva can then embed into our meat, which is
terrible for us but a dead end for the tapeworm (because we have no natural
predators ourselves)

\-----

To protect against intestinal tapeworms only eat well cooked meat. (For raw
meats like sushi, deep freezing is also an option if done right)

Preventing tapeworm cysts is more about sanitation. Have clean water for
drinking and irrigation and ensure that fruits and veggies are well cleaned.
Good personal hygiene helps, in case you are already infected with an adult
tapeworm (and therefore at risk of autoinfection).

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thriftwy
I'm not sure they're parasites but let's get rid of mosquitoes altogether.

As far as I am concerned, they make huge territories in the north virtually
unlivable (you could still live there but you no longer want to). That's even
before malaria comes into account.

This leads to a proposition to a Realm of Fungi. So you wanted to eat our
crops, but I have an interesting replacement for ya...

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KGIII
You get used to them, or wear protection. Black flies are my least favorite. I
think we may be too far north for malaria to be a real concern. I live just
above the 45th, but I go north to play.

~~~
thriftwy
> You get used to them

No you don't! You get used to limiting your exposure to the nature, which is
hardly desirable. Considering that people actually get to enjoy nature in less
wet / more sunny regions.

Ditch black flies too, surely.

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QAPereo
_That kind of mass die-off could spell ecological disaster. "_

I think it more likely to signal said disaster, than be a cause. You can point
to almost any massive loss of biodiversity and rightly say that it's a bad
sign, and maybe bad in and of itself. That sort of ignores the problem, while
diluting it.

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rwmj
If anyone is in Tokyo and interested in all things parasite, I can recommend
this museum: [http://www.kiseichu.org/e-top](http://www.kiseichu.org/e-top)

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anotheryou
Why does weakening of a population automatically mean keeping numbers in
check?

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Grangar
Same as when you remove their predators. Fewer of them die, therefore
offsetting the balance.

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baxuz
I'm ok with that. Put blood sucking mosquitoes on the list as well. Oh, and
ticks.

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paraplegic
Perhaps some PETA volunteers will allow themselves to be infected in order to
save the parasites?

~~~
jack9
It would come to that, if such an ecological catastrophe wasn't affecting lots
of other fuzzier animals for promotion. Some fringers will probably do it "to
raise awareness".

