PARASITES

Parasites have several ways of getting in or onto the human body. They can be transferred

• by food and water
• through the nose,mouth, anus and urinary tracts
• by insect bites
• by burrowing under the skin

Most parasites are small and hidden, so it is hard to know they are there until symptoms start to appear.

They live in the gut and can be up to 9 metres long. In humans, it stays in the gut. The tapeworm competes with the host for digested food. The tapeworm does not enter the body's tissues, so symptoms are usually just a mild stomach ache. If the tapeworm moves within the body to the eyes and brain, it can cause serious damage.

The features they have to enable them to survive are:

• the suckers and stickers on their heads to stick to gut walls
• they are protected from digestion by a think, enzyme resistant cuticle.
• they use anaerobic respiration
• assexual reproduction
• large numbers of eggs, so it increases the chance some will survive and find a new host.

Parasites have several ways of getting in or onto the human body. They can be transferred

• by food and water
• through the nose,mouth, anus and urinary tracts
• by insect bites
• by burrowing under the skin

Most parasites are small and hidden, so it is hard to know they are there until symptoms start to appear.

They live in the gut and can be up to 9 metres long. In humans, it stays in the gut. The tapeworm competes with the host for digested food. The tapeworm does not enter the body's tissues, so symptoms are usually just a mild stomach ache. If the tapeworm moves within the body to the eyes and brain, it can cause serious damage.

The features they have to enable them to survive are:

• the suckers and stickers on their heads to stick to gut walls
• they are protected from digestion by a think, enzyme resistant cuticle.
• they use anaerobic respiration
• assexual reproduction
• large numbers of eggs, so it increases the chance some will survive and find a new host.