Urban sprawl promotes worm exchange across species

Date:

January 28, 2015

Source:

University of Adelaide

Summary:

The complex exchange of parasitic worms between wildlife, rats and humans is a little more clear, thanks to new research. “We developed a model concept that allows us to link the probability of worm species occurring in wildlife and occurring in rats, and linked them to the probability of this occurring in a certain geographical area,” he says the lead author says.

Continued ...

Parasitic worms sniff out their victims as 'cruisers' or 'ambushers'

Date:

August 14, 2014

Source:

PLOS

Summary:

It has been speculated that soil-dwelling parasitic worms use their sense of smell to find suitable hosts for infection. New research comparing odor-driven behaviors in different roundworm species reveals that olfactory preferences reflect host specificity rather than species relatedness, suggesting that olfaction indeed plays an important role in host location.

Continued ...

Lung Worm Infections on the Rise, CDC Says

The number of U.S. infections from fluke worms in the lungs increased dramatically in 2009 and 2010, according to a new report, which traced the increase to the raw crawfish that people ate during recreational river trips.

Nine cases of paragonimiasis — the medical term for infections with the parasitic worms — were reported in or around Missouri in 2009 and 2010, after all of North America saw only seven cases in the previous 40 years, the report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

People become infected with the fluke worms by eating raw crawfish. Seven of the nine most recent cases occurred after people ate the crustaceans while on recreational river cruises.

Continued:  http://www.livescience.com/21538-fluke-worm-cases.html