From the disgusting human botfly parasite to the dangerous sand flea. Here are 15 of the most scary parasites that want to live inside you.


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#7 … The Human Botfly -- Also known as Dermatobia Hominis (Derm-a-tobia Homin-ees), this is a tropical parasite that uses human skin as an incubator. This creature has a clever strategy: It lays its eggs in mosquitoes and ticks, which feed on human blood. When these bloodsuckers feed, they leave an itch along with a mass of tiny larvae that dig a hole into the host’s skin. The larvae then incubate for 10 weeks and breathe through a hole tunnelled through the host’s skin. If the larvae reach maturation, they eventually exit the body. If not infections can form requiring surgery to remove the larvae.

#6 … The Guinea Worm -- This parasite is contracted by drinking dirty water infected by fleas containing the worm’s larvae. The parasites may produce no symptoms for up to a year, but during that time it’s actually mating and reproducing inside the host’s stomach. As a blister forms, the host experiences burning pain, rashes and fever; symptoms that the worm is migrating. Once a blister pops, the female Guinea Worm will try and release her larvae through the break in the skin. Many people have been infected with more than one worm at a time, and the only way to remove it is by winding it around a stick. If the worm dies in the host’s body, arthritis, or even paralysis may occur.

#5 … Filarial (fill-arr-ee-ul) Worm -- This parasite is spread by bites from black flies or mosquitoes. It causes Filariasis (fil-ar-I-as-is) which is actually a collection of diseases all of which have serious complications. Living inside the human body, these worms produce infections that can cause river blindness and elephantiasis (elephant-I-as-is). Elephantiasis can cause painful, extreme swelling and thickening of the skin, often in the arms and legs. This disease accounts for almost 40 million disfigurements around the world and can arguably be called an epidemic.

#4 … Ascarid (Ass-car-id) Worms -- This parasite can affect humans after consuming food or water that’s been contaminated with fecal matter. From the stomach, the worms chew their way from the intestines to the lungs, causing pneumonia which can be fatal to some hosts. Most people will be affected with a nagging cough, which can produce phlegm with the worms inside. If the host spits out the infected phlegm the creatures will simply die. If the host swallows the infected phlegm, the now-mature worms will travel back to the stomach, which is where they started. Why the worms follow this route is still one of nature’s mysteries. FYI: One in four humans are infected with these worms. Thought you’d like to know.

#3 … Loa Loa -- As you can see from the disturbing photo, the Loa Loa is a worm that you can feel squirming around your eyeball. The bite of certain types of flies is how this parasite is usually received. It can leave skin ulcers as it migrates from place to place on the body, but it always heads for the eyes … as they say, the eyes have it! This worm can live up to 17 years in a human body, if untreated. But as horrible as the Loa Loa looks and sounds, minor surgery or antibiotics provides an easy cure for the infection.

#2 … Vampire Fish -- It’s known as a vampire fish, for good reason. This is a tiny catfish that latches onto larger fish to drink their blood. This creature is attracted by ammonia. And guess what humans release when urinating? Ammonia. This parasite can follow the scent of ammonia right into the human urethra where it attaches its razor-sharp spine and start drinking blood. This has happened while humans were attempting to use the Amazon River as a urinal. It’s as painful as it sounds and the surgery required to remove it is a humbling experience to say the least.

#1 … Brain-Eating Parasite/Naegleria Fowleri (Nigh-ag-la-ree-a- Foul-a-ree) -- Although it’s a relative newcomer, this parasite has quickly made a name for itself as one of the deadliest parasites in the world. It is literally a brain-eating amoeba! This creature inhabits water, and will enter the body through the nose. It starts eating brain tissue within a week of entering the host. Symptoms include vomiting, fever and hallucinations, which quickly lead to respiratory failures, seizures and death. This parasite has killed people all over the world with a mortality rate of 95%

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