Episode 3 of Interesting Stories in the History of Diagnostics – “This Wormy World!”

In the third episode of our "Interesting Stories in the History of Diagnostics" series, Dr. Mickey Urdea expounds on the history of diseases caused by helminths - aka parasitic worms! Helminth diseases still affect more than 1.5 billion people worldwide (24% of the world's population!) today, and properly testing for the presence of worms is a challenge that the diagnostics industry continues to master. From being the subject of Charles Darwin's best-selling book (really!) to being the impetus for the founding of the Rockefeller Foundation, worms have had a surprisingly significant effect on diagnostics history.

Links to the articles mentioned:

Stoll, Norman. "This Wormy World". American Society of Parasitology, 1947. http://www.thiswormyworld.org/sites/www.thiswormyworld.org/files/uploads/n%20stoll%20tww.pdf

Darwin, Charles. "The Formation of Vegetable Mould, Through the Action of Worms, with Observations on Their Actions". 1881. http://darwin-online.org.uk/content/frameset?viewtype=text&itemID=F1357&pageseq=1

"Germ of Laziness Found?" New York Sun, 1902. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/32095400/1902-lcj-12-05-germ-of-laziness-new/

 

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