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A rare parasitic disease that has long been documented in Europe seems to have taken root in the United States.

Researchers in Vermont are reporting on two human cases of the disease, called alveolar echinococcosis (AE), which were caused by a European strain of the parasite E. multilocularis.

They also found evidence of the strain in two red foxes in Virginia.

Until...

Medieval monks were much more wormy than average folks, a new archaeological analysis has revealed.

Those living in medieval Cambridge were nearly twice as likely to be infected by intestinal parasites as city dwellers, researchers found.

Even though Augustinian friars had access t...

Researchers are reporting early but encouraging findings on a potential new way to prevent malaria — an old foe that still ranks as a major killer worldwide.

In a small trial of healthy volunteers, U.S. government researchers found that a lab-engineered antibody protected most participants from infect...

It's an icky truth: Everyone has millions of tiny mites living and mating on their skin.

Not to worry, though -- Demodex folliculorum skin mites actually help keep your pores clean and your skin healthy, stressed Alejandra Perotti, an associate professor of invertebrate biology with the University of Reading in the United Kingdom.

However, her team's recent research suggest...

Land parasites that pose a risk to human and wildlife health can hitch rides on the millions of pounds of microplastics that float between oceans, a new study shows.

"It's easy for people to dismiss plastic problems as something that doesn't matter for them, like, 'I'm not a turtle in the ocean; I won't c...

Chimpanzees aren't monkeying around when they catch insects and place them on open wounds, researchers report.

An ongoing study of about 45 chimps in Loango National Park in Gabon is the first to document via video that such "healing" behavior is occurring, according to the team from Osnabrück University in Germany and the Ozouga Chimpanzee Project. The study was published Feb. 7 in the ...

U.S. insurers are paying millions of dollars a year to cover the cost of ivermectin for COVID-19 patients despite a lack of proof the anti-parasitic drug is effective against the virus, a new study finds.

Both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the World Health Organization say ivermectin pills -- typically used to treat parasitic infections like worms -- should not be used for COV...

In ancient times, intestinal parasites weren't just an affliction of the poor. Even the well-to-do had them.

Researchers studied the contents of a cesspit beneath a toilet in Jerusalem. They found the remains of several types of intestinal parasite eggs that would have resulted from poor sanitary conditions.

But...

It's a drug that's been supported by some conservative media figures, but taking ivermectin to treat or prevent COVID-19 might land you in the hospital, a new study warns.

Interest in the drug surged last summer as the highly contagious Delta variant took over the United States. But instead of protecting against the virus, the use of a medicine typically reserved for horses and cattle has...

Hookworms -- a common parasite in animals -- have become resistant to multiple deworming drugs used to kill them, a new study finds.

Veterinarians typically use three types of drugs to kill hookworms, and all three have lost their effectiveness, researchers report.

Moreover, as more hookworms survive, they'll be a threat to people, too, according to the study.

One possible bre...

Desperate for a treatment against COVID-19, some Americans have reached for an anti-parasitic drug aimed at animals, with serious consequences, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warns.

"Never use medications intended for animals on yourself. Ivermectin preparations for animals are very different from those approved for humans," the FDA cautioned in a statement.

The agency has re...

A foodborne pathogen may be linked to a type of rare brain cancer in adults, a new study suggests.

Researchers found that people who have glioma are more likely to have antibodies to toxoplasma gondii than a similar group that was cancer-free. That indicates they were previously infected with the parasite, which is most commonly acquired from undercooked meat.

The invest...

In a new trial there are hints, but no proof, that a wriggling intestinal parasite might help fight multiple sclerosis.

The lowly hookworm has for years been proposed as a potential treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS) and other autoimmune disorders.

But the first clinical trial testing the potential benefits of the parasite against MS has produced decidedly mixed results, ...

You may get more than you bargained for when you eat sushi, a new study suggests.

Researchers found that since the 1970s, there's been a 283-fold increase in the abundance of a parasitic worm that can be transmitted to people who eat raw or undercooked seafood.

This huge increase in the abundance of Anisakis worms, also called herring worms, could have consequences for both ...

A brain-invading killer parasite hides on a half-snail/half-slug creature before slipping into a salad, just waiting to be swallowed by hungry humans. Is it the plot of a B-movie or a real medical threat?

Unfortunately, the threat is real. Across the state of Hawaii, the "rat lungworm" parasite carried by slugs and snails has already caused more than a decade's worth of illness, a new...

Bedbugs have a long history, all the way back to the dinosaur age, a new study says.

British researchers said bedbugs evolved more than 100 million years ago and were around when dinosaurs were in charge.

"To think that the pests that live in our beds today evolved more than 100 million years ago and were walking the Earth side by side with dinosaurs, was a revelation," sai...