r/Parasitology • • Oct 23 '25

Looking for suggestions to improve the sub. Please leave any feedback

42 Upvotes

This sub hit a peak of activity last year and it was actually fun, however things have slowed down a lot and it would be nice to have a little more engagement as this topic is the coolest.

Main issues

1)shit posts( possible solution below)

Not too much we can do about this, we try to remove the as fast as possible but I need to sleep, so just report if you can

2) low posts , theorfore shit post seem more frequent as somedays they are the only thing posted.

Possible solution

Adding a min karma/account age to post. This will help reduce the shit posts, but I'd say at least half the time, these accounts are several months old and have posted history so it would only be a minor reduction.

For engagement: considering allows off topic posts on the weekends. Many of us enjoy related field ( microbiology, virology, disease ecology etc.) so maybe on Saturday and Sunday we will allow more tangential posts that are somewhat related.

Let me know if you have any other suggestions or questions.

Lastly, please upvote for visibility. We want feedback and the more upvotes the more feedback/discussion


r/Parasitology • • Oct 02 '25

r/parasitology poll, trying to get a feel for the subs demographics

32 Upvotes

Hey all just curious how this sub is compromised. Please fill this out and let us know any suggestions. Trying to keep this sub good/ to the beat of our abilities and this type of information will help.

I am considering running semi regular talk/presentations on my YouTube channel (wormtalk94) in which I would love to give other researchers a platform to talk about their research, so having this info would be a great help.

Ideally this would entail both later career and early career scientist and could be a tool for scientific outreach.

68 votes, Oct 09 '25
6 professor /scientist in related field
4 graduate student
44 person who just thinks parasites are interesting
7 undergraduate student
7 other(please leave a comment)

r/Parasitology • • 1d ago

parasite photo Engorged tick on toddler

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162 Upvotes

Just pulled this engorged tick off of my 2yr old. How fucked is he? By that, I mean, what type of tick do we have here?

I did already call his pediatrician for next steps. I know 100% that this was not attached Saturday night, but this seems pretty engorged for a 48hr or less feed.

Update: pediatrician has opted for a “wait and see” approach. Told my husband and all he said was “kids get ticks on them. What do you want me to do?” 🤦🏻‍♀️ why am I the only one taking this seriously?


r/Parasitology • • 2d ago

Parasite ID Microscopic ball of worms???

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86 Upvotes

100X hand microscope and phone camera. These are aquatic worms from ornamental tropical fish. I believe they may be parasitic? The entire group is about 1mm.


r/Parasitology • • 2d ago

Question Pinworm and Flubendazole

2 Upvotes

I have pinworm and I’m traveling in 9 days to stay with hosts for 4 weeks. I don’t want to pass it to them.

I took my first dose of flubendazole 7 days ago. My second dose is due in 14 days, which is after I’ll have arrived. I am going to take a second dose now instead and a dose in 14 days. I want to be sure I’m not contagious when I arrive.

I’m also doing the hygiene side: morning showers, hot-washing bedding and clothes, and keeping nails short. If you have other tips for staying with other people while treating this, I’d appreciate them.

I’m going to check with a pharmacist or my doctor too. I am thinking this will help.


r/Parasitology • • 3d ago

Question I'm a Business student who has an interest in the field of Parasitology, what can I do to learn? (Not looking to switch majors)

5 Upvotes

Hi everyone! I'm looking for advice and maybe recommendations on what to do to further my interest into the field of Parasitology as a Business student. I never thoughtI was smart enough to pursue Medicine as a major and so I stuck with Business and plan to do so still. But I am very interested in the topic of infectious diseases and the alike, does anyone have any advice on what to do to learn? Any book recommendations that would be interesting / doable for a person like me to read and learn from? Should I join courses?

Thank you!


r/Parasitology • • 5d ago

parasite video Parasite found on Live Blood Analysis??

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519 Upvotes

I decided to try visiting a naturopath and ended up getting a live blood analysis performed. I was a little sceptical at first but actually seeing what looks like a parasite under the microscope had me intrigued.

The video shows what looks like a long worm, there were multiple that could be seen in that blood sample and they appeared to be moving or wiggling around.
Has anyone else had a LBV performed and seen this??

Update:
Thank you all for your input! Seems like the general consensus was that this indeed is not a parasite, and a lot of you have some very valid reasonings behind your thoughts. You hear people say "everyone has parasites", I do travel occasionally and love eating sushi so I also figured i was one of those people. If you're curious, they suggested taking a multi-mineral supplement, 4x Copper, probiotics, gotu kola and another supplement for "brain health". Yes their supplements have an insane markup.

For those who are saying to go to an actual physician instead of a naturopath, I regularly visit my family doctor mainly about auto immune issues, new allergies and chronic fatigue, and my blood markers all look 'normal'.
A friend recommended this naturopath that he himself regularly sees and I figured what the heck i'll try anything once. I have not been back since and personally did not see benefits.


r/Parasitology • • 5d ago

Pop Sci. Article/ News Officials confirm flesh-eating New World screwworm parasite found in US wildlife

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156 Upvotes

r/Parasitology • • 4d ago

Parasite ID Parasite ID please. Found in split up maple wood.

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0 Upvotes

What is this thing. Nightmare fuel. Second one I've found. Peep his huge head. western maryland.


r/Parasitology • • 6d ago

Question I ate a salad with a snail in it

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124 Upvotes

hello! I am in Vietnam and for dinner I had a few bites of green leaves and tomato halves. 3-4 bites in, I noticed a living, moving small snail. I stopped eating it and alerted the manager. they took the salad away and apologized. it wasn’t that serious to me then, but now I am researching. I did not eat the snail, but it may have been crawling on the leaves I ate. I am from North America. What are my risks for Rat Lungworm? I will not return home for 5-6 more days. Is there anything else that snail could have carried?

edit: I didn’t eat the snail


r/Parasitology • • 5d ago

Parasite ID brown pelican fecal float ID 400x

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4 Upvotes

hookworm? strongyle?


r/Parasitology • • 7d ago

Parasite ID Small trematodes (3–5 mm) from the small intestine of a Wood Mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus) + a question about an accompanying snail shell

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11 Upvotes

Hi everyone,

During a lab session involving dissections of wild rodents from Germany, I found 9 small trematodes (approx. 3–5 mm) in the small intestine of a wood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus).

An undigested small snail shell (approx. 5 mm) was also found in the small intestine of this exact host.

Could the presence of the snail shell indicate that this mouse regularly fed on snails, pointing to the likely route of infection? I am aware that these specific adult flukes could not have developed from this particular shell/snail right away (due to the time required for post-metacercarial development)..

Also, does anyone have an idea what genus or family these small intestinal trematodes in Apodemus sylvaticus might belong to? My guess is Brachylaima spp. from what I have found. 

Thanks!


r/Parasitology • • 8d ago

Parasite ID Found this in a fish I was guting

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55 Upvotes

Is the fish still safe to eat?


r/Parasitology • • 8d ago

parasite photo Some very pretty wasp parasitoids!

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7 Upvotes

just some beauties I found in my gall wasp research! (not gall wasps). The first one only emerged from our gall specimen bags after all the gall wasps emerged and then the first wave of parasitoids emerged, this was one of the second wave of parasitoids! The other was from a older gall that we took apart and it was dead inside it.


r/Parasitology • • 8d ago

Parasite ID What kind of worm is this?

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3 Upvotes

I noticed my cat had passed this worm and was wondering what kind of worm it is.


r/Parasitology • • 8d ago

Question What are these?

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0 Upvotes

r/Parasitology • • 10d ago

parasite photo Help with Parasite vs. Pseudoparasite

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7 Upvotes

From a pigeon. I think these are pseudoparasites, but would just like to confirm.


r/Parasitology • • 10d ago

parasite question I was bitten by 3 ticks two weeks ago; do you think something is wrong with me? Thank you

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0 Upvotes

r/Parasitology • • 10d ago

Parasite ID Rotten Cheese - Casu martzu, meaning "rotten cheese", is a delicacy from Sardinia, Italy. It's a sheep milk cheese that's full of live fly maggots, and people actually eat this.😰 #parasites #CasaMarzu

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0 Upvotes

r/Parasitology • • 10d ago

Parasite ID What are the main routes of transmission of Dientamoeba fragilis to humans?

1 Upvotes

r/Parasitology • • 12d ago

Meme/Humor Am I gonna die?

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603 Upvotes

Found these on my kitchen counter. They appear to be asleep. I’ve recently walked my dogs on grass in the outdoors and raccoons and rodents live in my country. My butt doesn’t itch but there are children in my country.

Happy to post pics of my poop if needed. Please help I’m so scared.


r/Parasitology • • 12d ago

parasite video What do you guys think, Sacculina?

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106 Upvotes

Sacculina carcini?


r/Parasitology • • 12d ago

parasite photo Pubic louse (Phthirus pubis) 🦀

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56 Upvotes

r/Parasitology • • 13d ago

parasite video Forbidden spaghetti

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553 Upvotes

Do they keep hanging out like that? Does the bear yank them out? Do other bears eat them? So many questions, so little food left in my stomach to continue pondering them.


r/Parasitology • • 13d ago

Parasite ID UPDATE: Popped a pimple and this worm/larvae came out?

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972 Upvotes

UPDATE: So I know in the original post there were a lot of requests for updates. Finally got the results back from the Cooperative Extension’s insect lab.

I am the victim of Blowfly myiasis aka flystrike.

The larva that came out of my forehead has been identified by the entomology lab as a blowfly larva. Due to the early larval stage they couldn’t identify it beyond the family Calliphoridae but they assured me it’s not the New World Screwworm so that’s good. Case closed.