An Analysis of the Book, Parasite Rex by Carl Zimmerman

Parasites are among the world's most successful and sophisticated organisms. They can transform the insides of other creatures into hospitable homes. They can evade the onslaught of the immune system and even make it serve them. Parasites can even control the minds of their hosts and force them to do their bidding. And thanks to these skills, parasites may make up the majority of all species. I was never aware of how intelligent parasites were until I read this book, I was afraid to touch, smell or eat anything.

In years past, parasite problems were mainly associated with travel. But times have changed. According to an article I read in the USA Today by Parasitologist Yiming Li, M.D., and Neil H. Riordan, P.A.-C, outbreaks of illness caused by parasites have made front-page news. In the late 1990s, 12 states in the United States reported epidemics caused by cyclospora, a parasite ingested when eating contaminated strawberries and raspberries. Two years ago, people suffered during a cryptosporidium outbreak in Milwaukee. Another instance of parasitic infection occurred when 21 people became ill after drinking contaminated water at a Chicago hospital. Riordan reported that in Kansas alone, water analysis indicates that 80 percent of surface water in the state is contaminated with giardia or cryptosporidium parasites. Dr. Li explained that the incubation period for parasites is two to seven days. The symptoms of most parasitic infections are the same. One may experience severe stomach pain, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, anorexia, abdominal cramping, gas, bloating, fever or fatigue. The symptoms last from one to two months.

Carl Zimmer describes the parasites lifestyles in vivid detail. His subjects range in size from the protozoan Plasmodium (which can fit inside a human red blood cell) to tapeworms, which can grow 60 feet long. Living inside another creature's body requires developing elaborate ways to dodge the immune system, from hiding in cysts to releasing tame viruses that decoy defenses from the actual threat. Some parasites can modify the behavior of their intermediate hosts, making them more vulnerable to the predators that are their final hosts.

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Toxoplasma, which passes from rats to cats, turns off a panic mechanism triggered by the smell of cat urine, so the rats no longer instinctively avoid their feline hunters. Many parasites sterilize their prey, diverting energy from reproductive activity to the create of food for parasites. Parasitologists believe that this sort of behavior, making some infected animals 30 times more likely to be eaten, has a profound effect on the balance of predator and prey species in the wild. But to most readers, the real meat of the book will be its description of the ways in which parasites affect the human race. The biggest surprise: rainforest Indians in Venezuela, commonly infected with intestinal parasites, are almost entirely free of asthma. Scientists speculate that, without parasites to repel, the immune system turns its attention to otherwise minor irritants such as dust mites and cat dander. As with so many other apparent advances, the cure for one disease may well be the cause of another. An eye- opening perspective on biology, ecology, and medicine.

Carl Zimmer takes us on a fantastic voyage into the secret parasite universe we actually live in but haven't recognized. He reveals not only that parasites are the most successful life forms on Earth, but that they triggered the development of sex, shape ecosystems, and have driven the engine of evolution. In mapping the parasite universe, Zimmer makes the astonishing observation that most species are parasites, and that almost every animal, including humans, will at one time or another become the home of a parasite. Zimmer shows how highly evolved parasites are and describes the frightening and amazing ingenuity these commando invaders use to devour their hosts from the inside and control their behavior.

The sinister Sacculina carcini makes its home in an unlucky crab and proceeds to eat everything but what the crab needs to put food in its mouth, which Sacculina then consumes. When Sacculina finally reproduces, it places its young precisely where the crab would nurture its own progeny, and then has the crab nurture the foster family members. Single- celled Toxoplasma gondi has an even more insidious role, for it can invade the human brain. There it makes men distrustful and less willing to submit to social mores. Women become more outgoing and warm-hearted. Why would a parasite cause these particular personality changes?

It seems Toxoplasma wants its host to be less afraid, to be more prone to danger and a violent end -- so that, in the carnage, it will be able to move on to another host. From the steamy jungles of Costa Rica to the fetid parasite heaven of rebel-held southern Sudan, Zimmer tracks the genius of parasitic life and its impact on humanity. We hosts have developed remarkable defenses against the indomitable parasite: our mighty immune system, our culturally enforced habit of keeping clean, and, perhaps most intriguingly, sex. But this is not merely a book about the evil power of parasitism and how we must defend against it. On the contrary, Zimmer concludes that humankind itself is a new kind of parasite, one that preys on the entire Earth. If we are to achieve the sophistication of the parasites on display here in vivid detail, if we are to promote the flourishing of life in all its diversity as they do, we must learn the ways nature lives with itself, the laws of Parasite Rex.

Parasite Rex offers a guided tour to the hidden, fascinating world of parasites, from protozoans that turn rats into suicidal kamikazes to wasps that turn their own DNA into viruses to help them parasitize caterpillars. It follows scientists who are beginning to appreciate how parasites can control the fate of entire ecosystems

and even steer the course of evolution. In the final two chapters of Parasite Rex, Zimmer addresses parasites in human medicine and agriculture. Not only are parasites not all bad, Zimmer concludes in this exemplary work of popular science, but we may be parasites, too-and we have a lot to learn from them about how to manage earth, the host we share.

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