13.1 Definition

Parasites are organisms that feed on substances produced by another living being or depend on it to carry out some of its vital processes such as reproduction. Parasites can inhabit the surface of the host: the so-called exoparasites; or inside: endoparasites. These organisms usually harm to the host without providing any benefit. It may also be the case that a parasite in turn has organisms that parasitize them, as is the case with some viruses that parasitize other species of viruses or bacteria. Thus, various levels of parasitism can occur in an ecosystem.
According to the definition, parasites can be microscopic unicellular or multicellular organisms of great size and complexity. So even microscopic bacteria and fungi could be considered parasites, however we usually understand protozoa and a large number of multicellular species under the classification of parasites.

13.2 Classification

By the number of species that parasites can infect they are divided into:

• Monogenea. They parasitize a single species either fish or amphibian, so they inhabit aquatic environments; they do not parasitize humans. They belong to the phylum of flatworms with more than 4 thousand species known presenting a great variety of forms.
• Digenea. They are worms of the subclass of flatworms that inhabit the digestive tract of various species of vertebrates, they can also infect humans.

The parasites that can infect humans can be classified into three large groups:

13.2.1 Protozoa. They are microscopic unicellular organisms that can be free-living or parasitic in nature. Protozoa, even though they are unicellular organisms, present certain characteristics that bring them closer to the animal kingdom, such as responding in different ways to external stimuli and being able to move through cylinders or flagella. For that reason some scientists have classified them within a special kingdom, the Protists; while others consider them an edge within the animalia kingdom. In short, they represent an evolutionary step between unicellular beings, such as bacteria, and animals.
Many species of protozoa have life cycles that include a proliferative phase taking the form, for example, of trophozoites, like cysts, they are more resistant to hostile environments, allowing them to spread from one host to another. Transmission from protozoa living in the human intestine to another human generally occurs by the rectal-oral route, for example, contaminated food or water, or person-to-person contact. Protozoa that live in human blood or tissues are transmitted to other human beings by an arthropod vector, for example, by the bite of a mosquito. Protozoa can be classified according to their mobility in:

• Sarcodines, or amoebas like the Entamoeba.
• Mastigophora or flagellates, such as Leishmania or Gardia.
• Cilophora, or ciliates like Balantidium
• Sporozoa, whose adult stage is not mobile like Plasmodium or Criptosporidium

In the Biomagnetic Guide several of the parasites (protozoa) are classified within the lists of bacteria, since they are single-celled organisms.

13.2.2 Helmintos

Helminth literally means worm. They are multicellular beings that in their adult form are visible to the naked eye. They can be free-living or parasitic in nature. By their morphology we can classify them into three types:

• Flatworms (platyhelminths) such as trematodes (flukes) and cestodes (tapeworms). Usually we will find them in the digestive tract.
• Thorn Head Worms (Acanthocephalus): Adult forms of these worms reside in the gastrointestinal tract. Acanthocephalus are believed to be an intermediate form between cestodes and nematodes.
• Roundworms (nematodes): can be found in the digestive tract, also in the blood, the lymphatic system or subcutaneous tissues. The larvae can infect various body tissues.
• Leeches can be considered segmented type helminths, although they are not properly parasitic.

13.2.3 Ectoparasites.

They are parasites that live outside the human body, in general they are arthropods * such as ticks, fleas, lice, mites or even mosquitoes, which feed on human blood, although some do not consider them parasites since they do not live on the surface of the skin. This group of parasites are harmful to humans, mainly because they are vectors (carriers) of other pathogens such as various species of viruses and bacteria.

13.2.4 Endoparasites.

We also have species of parasites (protozoa) that can only proliferate inside the cells of the host organism, they are called Endoparasites or obligate intracellular parasites such as Leishmania or Rickettsia.

13.3 Parasitic diseases

Unlike viruses, bacteria and fungi, parasitic diseases are closely related to hygiene conditions. By improving personal and home hygiene measures, many of these diseases can be prevented. Also, its prevalence is closely related to environmental conditions. The two previous factors determine why the incidence rates of parasitic infections vary remarkably between the different regions.
Tropical climates favor many of them, especially due to the proliferation of arthropods such as mosquitoes, fleas, ticks, etc. And also because hot weather accelerates the decomposition of food. Better economic and educational conditions could help reduce or eradicate many of them. The lack of drinking water is a determining factor, since drinking or simply coming into contact with contaminated water favors the spread of parasites. Unsanitary conditions in the home and contact with wild animals are also factors to consider.
All of the above will help us understand the origin of any disease. If the querent does not live in an endemic area for any of these diseases, the first thing to suspect is that he has acquired it on a trip abroad or through another infected person.

13.4 Treatment with biomagnetism

Parasites, like bacteria, proliferate in the alkaline environment. Biomagnetism is applied in the usual way, carrying out the scanning protocol and locating the biomagnetic pairs. The results are quite remarkable, many times noticing changes immediately.
When giving the recommendations to the consultant, special attention must be paid to take hygiene measures to avoid possible contagion. In some species whose life cycles include the development of cysts or eggs, it will be important to wash clothes, sheets, personal and frequently used utensils to avoid contagion from occurring in the same person or someone else.

 

---

*Generally under the term arthropod we designate invertebrate animals that have an exoskeleton, segmented with jointed appendages (legs).

 

 

Next Lesson