Collage of various helminth eggs, from left to right: Trichosomoides egg, Ascaris lumbricoides with larva hatching, sample of adult roundworms, Hymenolepis nana, Schistosoma mansoni and Toxocara canis with larva hatching
The study raises the possibility of using inexpensive and widely available anti-parasitic drugs as a preventive measure in places where the parasite and TB are common -- stopping infection with the parasite and reducing susceptibility to TB and the risk of a latent TB infection progressing to disease.
The research, from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, appears online Nov. 16 in The Journal of Clinical Investigation.
"Scientists and doctors have known that having both infections -- this parasitic worm and tuberculosis -- results in increased susceptibility to severe lung disease than having TB alone," said Shabaana A. Khader, PhD, associate professor of molecular microbiology. "But if we don't understand why co-infection increases the susceptibility to TB, it is difficult to know how to deal with the situation."
Comment: Studies have found that most people, especially those with chronic diseases and cancer, are host to at least one kind of parasite. Parasites can range from tiny organisms, visible only by microscope to long tapeworms. They can enter the body through food, drink, contact with animals or infected persons, or even just skin contact, and parasite infections can last for years.
Parasitic microorganisms: Chances are, you've got them