why are we humans not subject to regular deworming?
In: Biology
Because most humans don’t have worms, since our food and water, in developed countries, are mostly free of risks.
Also, if you had worms you’d notice it through symptoms, so there’s no need to deworm just in case.
Because we don’t regularly get worms?
Humans living in developed societies rarely contract parasitic worms. Humans are also capable of recognizing the symptoms of a parasitic worm infection and taking direct action to combat it. For that reason, deworming pills are typically only taken on an “as needed” basis. There are some programs in the developing world that widely distribute deworming pills.
have you had worms regularly enough for this to be an issue?
Because humans in a large part of the world do not regularly get worms.
You can get intestinal worms from consuming eggs or live worms. They can be in undercooked meat, contaminated water, soil, feces, etc.
Humans in general do not just drink and eat stuff we find in nature that could be contaminated. We clean food and cook lots of it. We do our needs in a dedicated location so we are not exposed to feces. We also wash ourselves in a way that other animals do not.
It is children who are at risk because they put stuff in their mouths like dirt that adults don’t.
The result is in large part developed world intestinal worms are quite rare.
It does not mean it is not something that is recommended for humans at all. WHO do recommend it for children where soil-transmitted helminth (a type of worm) infections are common. Here is a map of where it is common https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK525254/figure/pt3.ch13.sec3.map1/
https://www.who.int/tools/elena/interventions/deworming
Public health professionals working for governments and non-governmental organizations have done wonders over the last hundred years or so to nearly eliminate worms for most people in the developed world.
Toilets!!! Toilets are so important. People who walk barefoot over muddy ground to use an outdoor pit-toilet are likely to get hookworm. People who go out at night to poop in the same fields or paddies where they grow their food can get worms. People in substandard prisons or refugee camps or living in the wake of a natural disaster are also vulnerable to worms.
Soap! Washing hands after changing a baby, after toileting, before meal prep, after handling raw meat, etc. So important.
Better monitoring and treatment of pets and livestock. Some parasitic worms can be transmitted from animals to humans when we handle their feces or eat their meat. But now we have networks of veterinarians and food inspectors constantly testing and reporting any nascent outbreak.
Restaurant inspections. Meats have to be cooked to certain temperatures to kill any worms. There all kinds of health standards meant that prevent worms and other pathogens.
We cook our food for one, and if we eat it raw, we usually have pretty high hygiene standards where the raw food is processed and prepared. We also avoid drinking still water and treat our drinking water if it’s not up to standards.
We also regularly wash our hands and avoid sticking our hands into nasty stuff and then into our mouths.
LoL. I’m old – grew up on a farm in a very rural area. Every spring my mother would bust out the deworming medication – for dogs, cats. . . and kids.
Cue my husband’s (boyfriend at the time) surprise the first spring we were together, when I said it was time for deworming. He laughed soooo hard.
Unlike my dog we do not eat poo. Unlike cats we don’t eat entire animals including intestinal tracts. We take lots of precautions with our food, even aside from cooking, we tend to eat the “safe” parts of animals.
In places where worms are a concern, de worming does happen.
240 million children in India are at risk for it and we have a national de-worming day to combat it. Government healthcare workers, government school employees etc administer the necessary medication for it.
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