Good Parasites?
This week I had the opportunity to do a Skype call with the Skype A Scientist organization. This organization matches up scientists of all types with classrooms who are interested in the type of work they do. It was a 30-45 minute call where I spoke with a 3rd grade class in Maryland and was able to give an explanation about my research and the work I do, and then the rest of the time was spent answering questions asked by the kids. I was sent a list of questions by the teacher that they had come up with and then more questions came up as we talked about my work---parasites!
When I initially received the email with the questions, I have to admit I was prepared for the generic questions from younger kids about wildlife and parasites, I was also prepared for silly questions because kids always have an awesome sense of humor. Rather, what I found was a list of incredibly well thought out questions that really made me think. The question that I want to focus on asked "is there such a thing as a good parasite?" This one challenged me as a wildlife parasitologist and disease ecologist because just as a habit, I tend to focus only on the "bad" parasites. I emphasize "bad" because like all living things, these parasites are just trying to live their lives and pass on their genes to the next generation.
After careful thought (and a quick look back on my wildlife parasitology notes, shh don't tell), I settled on an answer for these kids on this awesome question that I have not been asked before by anyone, let alone a group of third-graders. From the perspective of a parasitologist, one can say there is such a thing as a good parasite. Take the medicinal leech for example.
The medical leech is a species that has been used for hundreds of years as a medical tool for the care and treatment of sick human beings. The usage of a leech for therapeutic purposes is called hirudotherapy and after a break from around 1930 (the advent of antibiotics) to sometime around the 1970s leeches have made a huge comeback as a good medical tool for a number of reasons. In a 2018 article in Medical News Today, Tim Newman describes his experience trying out leech therapy to treat eczema, and also talks about the four active compounds released by leeches. These compounds are why I would consider leeches to be "good" parasites.
The four compounds are as follows: 1) a local anesthetic that reduces the pain from the bite that comes first and the sucking that comes next. 2) a local vasodilator which encourages blood flow in the region of the leech bite. 3) anticoagulant agents (hirudin) which ensures that the blood does not clot as the leech feeds, and 4) platelet aggregation inhibitors which is "science-speak" for the prevention of platelets sticking together as the do during wound healing. So why is all of this important? The big reason is all the many conditions that hirudotherapy is supposably able to treat. The conditions listed include heavy hitters like Alzheimers, hepatitis, chronic renal failure and even migraines. There are other conditions that hirudotherapy is supposed to treat including arthritis and patients who suffer an amputation. For more information on this, please go here.
As a brief conclusion, I really encourage scientists to try this Skype A Scientist experience because it is a great challenge in our ability as communicators to the general public, as well as to kids! Give it a whirl, and then write about your experiences to make others in our community aware of this great organization.
Other Interesting Reading!
For an introduction to leech therapy, see here.
For a scientific paper on the therapeutic effects of leeching, see here.
To read about another "good" parasite, click here
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| Cotylurus spp. Photo by Jacob Shurba, not for reuse |
When I initially received the email with the questions, I have to admit I was prepared for the generic questions from younger kids about wildlife and parasites, I was also prepared for silly questions because kids always have an awesome sense of humor. Rather, what I found was a list of incredibly well thought out questions that really made me think. The question that I want to focus on asked "is there such a thing as a good parasite?" This one challenged me as a wildlife parasitologist and disease ecologist because just as a habit, I tend to focus only on the "bad" parasites. I emphasize "bad" because like all living things, these parasites are just trying to live their lives and pass on their genes to the next generation.
After careful thought (and a quick look back on my wildlife parasitology notes, shh don't tell), I settled on an answer for these kids on this awesome question that I have not been asked before by anyone, let alone a group of third-graders. From the perspective of a parasitologist, one can say there is such a thing as a good parasite. Take the medicinal leech for example.
 |
| Hirundo medicinalis or the Medical Leech |
The medical leech is a species that has been used for hundreds of years as a medical tool for the care and treatment of sick human beings. The usage of a leech for therapeutic purposes is called hirudotherapy and after a break from around 1930 (the advent of antibiotics) to sometime around the 1970s leeches have made a huge comeback as a good medical tool for a number of reasons. In a 2018 article in Medical News Today, Tim Newman describes his experience trying out leech therapy to treat eczema, and also talks about the four active compounds released by leeches. These compounds are why I would consider leeches to be "good" parasites.
The four compounds are as follows: 1) a local anesthetic that reduces the pain from the bite that comes first and the sucking that comes next. 2) a local vasodilator which encourages blood flow in the region of the leech bite. 3) anticoagulant agents (hirudin) which ensures that the blood does not clot as the leech feeds, and 4) platelet aggregation inhibitors which is "science-speak" for the prevention of platelets sticking together as the do during wound healing. So why is all of this important? The big reason is all the many conditions that hirudotherapy is supposably able to treat. The conditions listed include heavy hitters like Alzheimers, hepatitis, chronic renal failure and even migraines. There are other conditions that hirudotherapy is supposed to treat including arthritis and patients who suffer an amputation. For more information on this, please go here.
As a brief conclusion, I really encourage scientists to try this Skype A Scientist experience because it is a great challenge in our ability as communicators to the general public, as well as to kids! Give it a whirl, and then write about your experiences to make others in our community aware of this great organization.
Other Interesting Reading!
For an introduction to leech therapy, see here.
For a scientific paper on the therapeutic effects of leeching, see here.
To read about another "good" parasite, click here
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