5 ms·

I suspect any final form for a “live” treatment, would probably be a two part sort of thing. “Take worms/eggs day 1, day 2, 3 or 4 you take the anti worming dru

I suspect any final form for a “live” treatment, would probably be a two part sort of thing. “Take worms/eggs day 1, day 2, 3 or 4 you take the anti worming drug to prevent the worms getting much of a foothold”

at_a_remove 6y ago
The pig whipworm eggs used previously for this purpose can hatch in the human body but they cannot survive, so no foothold therapy is needed. Instead, they're just enough to attract the attention of a perhaps overly-excitable immune system.
- thaumasiotes 6y ago
  > The pig whipworm eggs used previously for this purpose can hatch in the human body but they cannot survive If this became a routine treatment, it seems pretty likely that they'd start being able to survive.
  - war1025 6y ago
    That doesn't really follow. For something to evolve like that you need to re-introduce the mutated strains back to the source. If there is no re-introduction (which there wouldn't be, because the worms would be bred in an isolated environment and not the sewer system), then there isn't really anything to worry about. There is no selection pressure at the point where breeding and distribution occurs.
    - high_density 6y ago
      even if the 'gradually-evolving' process isn't provided, isn't there some genetic chance? (be it really small -- like lottery?)
      - war1025 6y ago
        The mutation would have to happen in the lab and not in the wild, since the pills would come from the lab. I imagine if such a thing did occur, they would just kill the batch they were breeding and start over from a known strain. (Not a microbiologist, so who knows though)
    - thaumasiotes 6y ago
      Why would you need to reintroduce the mutated strains back to the source? They already have a plan for migrating from one host to another host; they don't need to migrate from their host back to a lab so their laboratory-bred eggs can be intentionally introduced into another host.
      - war1025 6y ago
        You might end up with strains that could survive in humans, but those wouldn't be the strains being prescribed to people.
- sliken 6y ago
  Be warned that parasites are generally pests, and in normal circumstances don't typically cause serious problems for a host. However when crossing hosts signals can get crossed and they can cause serious health problems like eating your retina, brain, hearts, etc. Be very careful with parasites that aren't evolved for humans.
  - thaumasiotes 6y ago
    They don't usually cause serious problems for hosts they coevolved with. Necator Americanus was always specialized to infect humans. But it evolved to infect Africans, who brought it to the new world. For blacks, it doesn't pose much of a problem. For whites, it does.

at_a_remove 6y ago

The pig whipworm eggs used previously for this purpose can hatch in the human body but they cannot survive, so no foothold therapy is needed. Instead, they're just enough to attract the attention of a perhaps overly-excitable immune system.

thaumasiotes 6y ago
> The pig whipworm eggs used previously for this purpose can hatch in the human body but they cannot survive If this became a routine treatment, it seems pretty likely that they'd start being able to survive.
- war1025 6y ago
  That doesn't really follow. For something to evolve like that you need to re-introduce the mutated strains back to the source. If there is no re-introduction (which there wouldn't be, because the worms would be bred in an isolated environment and not the sewer system), then there isn't really anything to worry about. There is no selection pressure at the point where breeding and distribution occurs.
  - high_density 6y ago
    even if the 'gradually-evolving' process isn't provided, isn't there some genetic chance? (be it really small -- like lottery?)
    - war1025 6y ago
      The mutation would have to happen in the lab and not in the wild, since the pills would come from the lab. I imagine if such a thing did occur, they would just kill the batch they were breeding and start over from a known strain. (Not a microbiologist, so who knows though)
  - thaumasiotes 6y ago
    Why would you need to reintroduce the mutated strains back to the source? They already have a plan for migrating from one host to another host; they don't need to migrate from their host back to a lab so their laboratory-bred eggs can be intentionally introduced into another host.
    - war1025 6y ago
      You might end up with strains that could survive in humans, but those wouldn't be the strains being prescribed to people.
sliken 6y ago
Be warned that parasites are generally pests, and in normal circumstances don't typically cause serious problems for a host. However when crossing hosts signals can get crossed and they can cause serious health problems like eating your retina, brain, hearts, etc. Be very careful with parasites that aren't evolved for humans.
- thaumasiotes 6y ago
  They don't usually cause serious problems for hosts they coevolved with. Necator Americanus was always specialized to infect humans. But it evolved to infect Africans, who brought it to the new world. For blacks, it doesn't pose much of a problem. For whites, it does.