The study deals with herring worms - organisms that, despite their name, are found in
Herring worms destroy the intestinal wallscause nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. In most cases, the worm dies after a few days and symptoms disappear, and the disease, called anisakiasis or anisacidosis, is rarely diagnosed. Most doctors believe that a patient with these symptoms has suffered severe food poisoning.
This type of worms enters the body of fish wheneat small crustaceans - for example, bottom shrimp, as well as when predators eat smaller fish. Worms cannot breed or live in the human gut for more than a few days, but they can survive and breed in marine mammals.
Scientists conducted a study of changes in the number of herring worms in the body of fish - and came to the conclusion that from 1978 to 2015, their population grew by 283 times.
Although the health risks of these marine worms tohuman is quite low, scientists believe that they can have a big impact on marine mammals such as dolphins, whales and seals. While biologists still do not know the physiological effects of these parasites on marine mammals, parasites can live in mammals for many years, which can have harmful consequences for them, the authors of the study conclude.
Earlier scientistsfound outthat every fifth person on Earth at least oncewas infected with the toxocara worm (toxocariasis). Most often, the inhabitants of countries with a humid climate, men, children, as well as pet owners and workers interacting with the soil suffer from this parasitic roundworm.