Last week, we talked about if eating papaya seeds could rid your body of parasites (spoiler: it can’t). But being concerned about having parasites is not new. We continue the conversation by looking into the phenomenon of Ekbom’s syndrome, or delusional parasitosis, a difficult disorder to both manage and treat.
Feb 2025
Ep 165 Fish Tongue Parasite: Parasite Appreciation Hour
Okay everyone, think about your tongue. Maybe move it around a bit, check in with it, consider what it means to you. Now imagine that your tongue suddenly shriveled up and fell off and that in its place is a tongue-sized isopod aka rollie pollie aka pillbug. Just there, hanging o ... Show More
1h 2m
Feb 2022
Ep 90 Human African Trypanosomiasis: A lot to unpack
Here on the podcast, we’re no strangers to multi-host parasites with complicated life cycles, intricate ecologies and dense human histories. But human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) might require the most unpacking yet. In this episode, we do a deep dive into the tsetse fly-transm ... Show More
1h 27m
Nov 2023
Ep 129 Lymphatic Filariasis: Hiding in plain sight
<p>With a history extending back millennia, with a biology that leads to permanent disability for tens of millions of people globally, and with a bacterial endosymbiont that may prove to be its Achilles heel, the filarial parasites that cause lymphatic filariasis are quite the co ... Show More
1h 20m
Nov 2017
Ep 2 Skin in the Game, Horse in the Race
This week we tackle leprosy. That biblical (or is it?) infection that, believe it or not, is still with us today. Leprosy has an ancient history that exemplifies some of the worst of human behavior, and its present day status may surprise you. <p> </p><p>See <a href="https://omny ... Show More
54m 19s