February 5, 2009 | 24 comments

Worms "N" Us: A look at 8 parasitic worms that live in humans

Take a trip through Scientific American's Worm Gallery and meet the charming, slinky creatures that turn your innards into their home sweet home

By Coco Ballantyne

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CLICK TO ENLARGE + Courtesy of Parasitic Diseases, 5th Ed., Apple Trees Productions, LLC

SCARY SCHISTOSOMES

People develop schistosomiasis, or infections with schistosomes, by swimming in or touching water containing infected snails that release the larvae into the water. (The snails become infected in the first place because people with the disease urinate or defecate in the water.) The larvae penetrate a person's skin and journey through the bloodstream where they grow into adult worms measuring up to 0.6 inch (15 millimeters) long. The adults, which can live in the bloodstream for years, lay eggs that travel to the liver, bladder, lungs or intestines, causing inflammation, scarring and organ enlargement. (These symptoms are caused by the eggs, not the actual worms.) Infections that go untreated for years can lead to fatal intestinal bleeding or bladder cancer. According to WHO, about 200 million people, most of them in Africa, are infected with schistosomes.

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