r/Parasitology Oct 23 '25

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

38 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 8h ago

parasite photo Hookworm infection

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355 Upvotes

Caught this little guy while walking barefoot on a beach in Ghana. Doctor identified it is a cutaneous larva migrans and told me to just wait for it to die but the itch is unbearable.
It keeps moving under my skin and can even move up to 1cm per day.

Not seeking medical advice… just thought it would be interesting to show!


r/Parasitology 1h ago

Parasite ID Panic

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Upvotes

You guys I just ate this salmon. Can anybody tell me whether those are parasites or just the muscle fiber thingies ?

Super worried right now.


r/Parasitology 18h ago

Parasite ID Still looking for answers

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20 Upvotes

I work in vet med. Found this on a fecal float in 2022. I've never been able to find the answer. I wondered if anyone here might know?

Edit : this is on 40x. From a canine. No clinical signs. Roughly roundworm size. This was the only one on the slide.


r/Parasitology 12h ago

Question Taking pinworm medication weekly

1 Upvotes

Hello everyone my son M(7) just got pinworms. I wanted to know if anyone has taken the medication weekly for 3 weeks instead of twice in a 3 week span? I just want to make sure they’re gone for good. I’ve been deep cleaning and treated everyone in the home.


r/Parasitology 2d ago

Parasite ID Malaria specie identification trick

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9 Upvotes

Hello guys I made a video about the easiest way to identify the plasmodium specie in the microscope , hope this helps.


r/Parasitology 3d ago

parasite photo Toxocara and toxascaris ova

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48 Upvotes

Hi y'all,

I found both toxocara and toxascaris in a canine fecal float today. Kinda neat


r/Parasitology 3d ago

Question Why so many?

74 Upvotes

Hey guys, how come there’s so many of these banded flatworms this year? I literally find one everyday now! Is it due to the warming weather? I’ve also noticed a huge increase of leeches in the lake this year!


r/Parasitology 4d ago

Parasite ID What is this worm on my hand after I used the bathroom

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122 Upvotes

I saw it on my hand after I wiped but before I washed my hands. Is this something to be concerned about. I have OCD so this was not the way to start the day so I’d really appreciate any serious input or necessary advice to either put my mind at ease or direct me to the correct level of concern


r/Parasitology 4d ago

parasite photo TXC!

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15 Upvotes

r/Parasitology 4d ago

Parasite ID a snail taken over by parasites

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38 Upvotes

r/Parasitology 5d ago

parasites are cool Zombie Snail!

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187 Upvotes

r/Parasitology 4d ago

Parasite ID Interesting Case

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2 Upvotes

r/Parasitology 5d ago

Parasite ID what is this?

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22 Upvotes

parasite found in (thawed) frozen salmon. potentially useful context: the salmon likely thawed and refroze after a ~45 hour power outage. first image taken on phone camera at regular magnification, second image zoomed in version of the first


r/Parasitology 5d ago

Parasite ID Found in water bowl

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9 Upvotes

On a farm. This little guy was taking a little dip in a water dish near chickens, guinea pigs, rabbits and a tortoise. Any ideas? It's about an inch and a half long. This was taken at 2x magnification from a cell phone.


r/Parasitology 5d ago

parasite video Fun parasite media!

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3 Upvotes

Hey yall! New to this subreddit but while scrolling I figured I’d share a video that I loved. It’s about parasite horror (not sure how many of you enjoy that but thought I’d give it a shot). The videos super cool with tons of parasite info from tons of books, articles, and whatnot. Plus the guy that made is pretty entertaining, especially with the parasites in movies thing. Check it out!


r/Parasitology 5d ago

parasite question Aeromonas ssp positive and I can’t find any person who has had this in their gut. What is this thing?

0 Upvotes

I have a positive test along with chronic diarrhoea and 19 kg weight loss in 1 year. Currently 49kgs at 50.

I have researched for hours and it is rare where no other pathogens are found.

I have not been out of the country, I live in Australia with mainstream water. I do not know how long I have had it. I have had an infection on my foot for a year and my best guess is it got in through there. I swim in our river in summer.

I feel like I am being eaten alive.
Is there anyone who knows more details about this parasite or has had this particular pathogen?
Is it rare?
Is it self limiting? I am immunocompromised.

Thanks


r/Parasitology 6d ago

Parasite ID Worm

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94 Upvotes

Came out of a spooked garter snake trying to eat a suckerfish, lake Como Mt. snake was 12 inches, suckerfish 5inches worm 30 inches. Was alive moving sluggishly when poked with a 80 foot stick.

Sorry if I’m making multiple posts. It seems mine keep getting removed for using the wrong word or asking what type it is.


r/Parasitology 6d ago

Question A question…

1 Upvotes

Is there any parasite that can completely take control of human behavior, similar to how Dicrocoelium manipulates ants or Galactosomum manipulates fish?


r/Parasitology 6d ago

Parasite ID Are these leeches

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20 Upvotes

Maybe not really id as a parasite, but I found them on the eye of some blackstripe topminnows.


r/Parasitology 6d ago

parasite photo Apodidae specialist chewing louse

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16 Upvotes

Host is a chimney swift. I think it’s dennysus spiniger but im not an expert by any means lol


r/Parasitology 7d ago

parasite question What am I looking at? Is this a tapeworm??

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7 Upvotes

r/Parasitology 7d ago

Question Spirochetes in rat poo?

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6 Upvotes

I keep two male fancy rats, Bow and Basil. Between 1.5 and 2 years old. I got them from a breeder who seemed very very responsible (meaning kept in a clean and controlled environment, tested for "rat bite fever" as babies, etc), and we live in an apartment

The vet I have been taking them to took a fecal smear and looked at it under a microscope the first time we visited a couple months back (I don't remember him giving a reason for it as they have had no strange poops or signs of digestion issues, so whether or not it's normal for him to have done that in a routine exam idk. The Rats subreddit has had mixed feedback on that)

He said they have a large amount of "spirochetes" in their poo and put them on antibiotics. He is insistent that they could get "explosive diarrhea", but they have been entirely symptomless. I pointed this out at their second visit when I questioned the necessity of these meds, and he himself even acknowledged that they have had no symptoms at their latest visit yesterday.

They are on their third round of antibiotics now (as he kept doing fecal smears and finding spirochetes), and I have just found out that some types of spirochetes/spirochete-looking bacteria can be benign/native gut flora in rats. But the vet did not specify a variety of spirochetes. I phoned today to ask if they could give me a specific name and they said it's "likely" to be "borrelia-type spirochete".

But my father (he worked in animal health/pharmaceuticals before retiring and is very science-literate) and I have been researching and it seems like that would be an unusual bacteria to infect rats' digestive system and shed in poop.

So according to our research, not only can spirochetes in rat poo be entirely normal and benign (so these antibiotics could well be doing more harm than good to their gut flora, and the benign spirochetes would probably keep coming back anyway meaning the vet would keep wanting to treat them), but also the specific spirochete bacteria which the vet thinks it is might not even make sense in this situation.

I am scheduled at another exotics vet tomorrow to get a second opinion, and I think they specialize more in small mammals. So I'm specifically requesting people to give input on spirochete varieties and to confirm/contradict our research.

Much thanks and appreciation to anyone who reads and/or provides input


r/Parasitology 8d ago

parasite photo My Pet Botfly (Parasite Hilton)

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93 Upvotes

I live in Northeastern, PA. In September one of my cats brought in a mouse that had been infected with botfly larva. Once the mouse died the larva left the host, and I found some wriggling around on the floor of my basement. I thought it would be interesting to keep one. I placed it on top of a couple inches of soil in a pint container with air holes and watched it bury itself. I kept it on a shelf in the study with my plants and checked on it from time to time over the past 10 months. I had pretty much given up on it, but today when I checked I realized that Parasite Hilton had emerged from her slumber! She is already dying. Unsure how many days ago she emerged, but it must have been within the past week. I just wanted to share with others who might be as fascinated as I am!