Schistosoma mansoni is a waterborne parasitic worm that can enter the body and cause harm without triggering the typical symptoms associated with parasitic infections. It’s this stealthiness that makes researchers think it could have some practical medical uses, according to researchers who published their findings in the Journal of Immunology.
S. mansoni is a helminth that infects people by burrowing painlessly through the skin. Once inside, it settles in for an extended stay, leading to schistosomiasis, a chronic condition affecting hundreds of millions globally. But here’s the wild part: it burrows into you by hacking your nerve signals, telling your brain that nothing is going wrong.
It’s close to the point where you’ll ever see a parasitic worm pull off that heist movie trick where they loop security camera footage to mask the crew cutting a hole in a vault door.
New research has shown that S. mansoni releases molecules that suppress a specific type of sensory neuron, known as TRPV1+, which is the same type that sends alerts about heat, stinging, and pain, and which helps kick-start immune responses.
This parasite snips the wires on your internal alarm system before walking into the front door.
This Parasitic Worm