Parasite Rex is a book that follows the parasitologist, Carl Zimmer, as he journeys through Africa to examine the effects of African sleep sickness and river blind disease. It is an 8-chapter book that gives captivating insight on different parasites and their role in our world. The book is both easy to read and it easily keeps the readers interest. Parasite Rex focuses on a new life study. Even though they have been a neglected species for up until recently, and are now catching the attention of scientists. This book shows just how powerful and dangerous parasites can be, and it raises the question, “How dominant of a force are these parasites?”
“Plague in Central America,” by Arana Xajila, in the years of 1519-1560 talks about a deadly plague that derives from Europe to Mesoamerica (Central America) and spreads throughout Central America. This plague had spread to the people of Central America when their tribe, Cakchiquels, were fighting against the Spaniards. The Spaniards that were fighting in the tribe had passed on this deadly plague to the Cakchiquels tribe who then passed it on to others in Central America. This plague can be known as the influenza (flu). This deadly virus was spreading rapidly and soon everyone in Central America were affected. This deadly disease that spread from Europe to Central America had caused people much suffering and ultimately was the cause of their
Bed bugs or more specifically Cimex lectulatius are blood drinkers that have had major population increases across the globe in the past ten years. Bed bugs can cause many skin syndromes due to the fact that they feed on blood making them relevant in modern health. Prolonged exposure to bed bugs can lead to chronic blood loss, anemia, and many psychological disorders. Bed bugs are active during the night and select hosts randomly except when they are in close proximity to a host. At that point it is believed that bed bugs will be drawn towards heat and possibly carbon dioxide. Nightly activity is due to hunger but is controlled by the circadian rhythm. Human smells have not proven effective in attracting bed bugs. Once a bed
There are approximately seven billion human beings in the world, each having their own culture and traditions. Coincidentally enough, “The Tequila Worm” is based on a small town in Texas, with a family who shares the same family traditions as mine. Viola Canales, the author, talks about the main protagonist, Sophia, and how she celebrates her culture. The making of Easter cascarones, celebrating Dia de Los Muertos, and her connection with her father, Sophia’s life is not so different from mine. Therefore, Sophia’s life and experiences are uncanny similarities to mine and that is what this essay will focus on.
Giardia Lamblia is a protozoan parasite. About 200 million people had infected in the world but this value just an estimate since that only 500 000 of new cases reported in a year. Previously, higher prevalence of occurance in the developing countries (20% and 30%) compare to developed countries (2% and 5%) (Wilson, 1984; Farthing, 1994).. Malaysia was considered as the developing country. Giardia lamblia may infect human through ingesting of it cysts. Hence, people with low hygiene and contaminated water supply have high risk of being infected.
There are many healthcare disparities involving parasitic infection. One disparity, for example, is that any one can get parasitic infection, it is so easy to be infected by a parasitic infection. Also, to really prevent one from getting a parasitic infection, they would have to be extremely cautious on the food they are eating and the water they are drinking. It is more common in regions of tropical or subtropical to avoid getting infected. We can also get infected through our pets and the disparity in this is that its hard to keep up with everything to avoid getting infected with parasitic
When the topic about Europeans coming to the New World the first thing that comes to mind is the valiant and audacious Christopher Columbus, the voyager, coming to the New World and peacefully interacting with Native Americans on the same level. Native Americans welcoming in these exotic folks and having no questions about them occupying their land and not becoming hostile. While, Europeans populate the New World and implement a numerous amount of commodities without any repercussions and the best of both worlds unify. This is not at all what occurred. In fact, when Europeans first stepped foot onto what is now the island of Haiti and the Dominican Republican, whilst not having any authorization whatsoever, the Native Americans
Good morning/afternoon everybody, today I have been assigned with informing you all about the Aztecs, or more importantly, the reason for their annihilation. Now you may be thinking that it was mainly to do with a war, but it is actually almost solely a disease called the variola disease or as it’s more commonly known, small-pox
I personally found Chapter 5 to be very fascianitng; I love learning about host manipulation. Organisms, regardless of size or other classifcations, aim to survive and reproduce. Organisms that cause diseases are no exception. These organisms will manipualte their host so that the disease spreads to new victims, helping the disease-causing organisms survive and reproduce. An example of host manipualtion is the interaction between humans and the Guine worm. Intially, a human drinks water contaminated with water fleas, which have eaten the Guinea worm larvae. The human digestive system destroys the fleas, but the Guinea worm larvae survive. A year after infection, the larvae are fully grown and females make their way to the surface of the skin.
respiratory difficulties. It is a non-contagious infection. Valley Fever lives in soil, it can be spread into the air, most commonly found in people who are surrounded in construction or farming. It is found in part of the United States, California, Mexico and dry areas of the South and Central America. It is defined into two parts, parasitic life cycle when pre-existing fungal enlarge and transform into a sphere, then begin developing into endospores, and saprobic life cycle produces fungal infections, found in the environment. When a person has been exposed to fungal spores through breathing or dust storms the symptoms may appear within 1-3 weeks. Women who are
In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue, opening up an entirely new and unexplored world to the Spanish. There was clearly only one thing to do, conquer it, and exploit its riches. The Iberians at first did not realize the sophisticated cultures they were about to go up against. The Aztecs and the Incas were two very highly developed cultures that had created large empires, and had cities that rivaled those of Europe. As you can see from the map these two civilizations were able to create large and advanced empires. How were a couple hundred conquistadors able to take down such vast and sprawling civilizations? The answer lies in trillions of small microscopic molecules. The Spaniards were able to conquer the “New World” when it was already
Flying arthropod vectors are significant epidemiologically because they play important roles in the lifecycle of many pathogens. Most Flying arthropods feed on blood at some point in their lifecycle; as a result, during the cause of feeding on the blood of hosts, the flying arthropods infect them, releasing the dangerous pathogens into the body system of the host. Furthermore, flying arthropods are able to infect numerous hosts during the course of its life. Additionally, flying arthropods are very prolific, and as a result, their numerous offspring would ensure the transmission of pathogens to their target
Smallpox is a viral and contagious infection that is caused by the Variola Virus. Smallpox is a disease that arose approximately 10,000 years ago in Africa and Southern Asia that spread quickly through the air and eventually spread throughout the whole world. Smallpox is a fatal and dangerous disease that has no cure but does have a vaccination to prevent it. However the vaccination does comes with a few dangerous side effects making this infection something no one wants to have. In addition Smallpox can spread very easily making people more vulnerable to it. Smallpox has had its fair share in the deaths of many people including significant icons throughout
This filariasis is also known as elephantiasis which is a parasitic infection. Tanzania is one of the top ten counties to have this disease effecting 80% of the population. This disease can be transmitted by mosquitoes. Also can be caused by thread- like worms that live in the human lymph system. The mosquitoes transfer there larva into the skin where they can travel to the lymphatic vessels where there lifespan can be up to six years without symptoms. This is how Samuel was able to travel to the United States and have no signs of this disease. The mosquitoes can carry this disease from one person to another. Samuel noticed that there was swelling in his leg and
Malaria is the most common disease in third world countries with a tropical climate; the disease is caused by a parasite called Plasmodium, which is transmitted through the bites of infected mosquitoes. In the human body, the parasites multiply in the liver, and then infect red blood cells. Symptoms of malaria include fever, headache, and vomiting, and usually appear between 10 and 15 days after the mosquito bite. If not treated, malaria can quickly become life-threatening by disrupting the blood supply to vital organs. In many parts of the world, the parasites have developed resistance to a number of malaria medicines.