Worms found in animals' eyes can transmit to humans by flies

Latest Science & Tech Team TabloidPK August 30, 2024 0 Comments 47 Views

Worms found in animals’ eyes can transmit to humans by flies

A study shows flies can transmit dozens of parasitic worms found in animals’ eyes to humans in a shocking discovery. Scientists fear that these worms are responsible for causing blindness and may also affect humans soon.

They researched a black bear that was killed in a Pennsylvanian village in November of last year. They found worms in a dead bear and extracted DNA from them. The worms were tiny having size less than 2 centimeters long.

*Worms found in the eyes of black bear in Pennsylvania village*

Scientists linked these tiny worms to Thelaziosis, a disease that can spread from animals to humans. According to them, this is the first time they have found these parasite worms in a wild animal in the United States.

Caroline Sobotyk is the principal author of this research study and assistant professor of clinical parasitology at the University of Pennsylvania. She said the presence of parasite worms in bear’s eyes increases the risk of humans getting this parasite.

*The presence of parasitic worms in bear eyes can transfer to humans*

This is because they earlier found these worms in only pets. However, their existence in wild animals’ eyes triggers fear of spreading across humans and other domestic animals. Hence, scientists fear worms found in wild animals’ eyes can transmit to humans.

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention’s Emerging Infectious Diseases journal has published this research study. Study co-author Kevin Niedringhau stated it is unlikely to reach humans directly from wild animals.

*Flies can transfer worms from animal eyes to humans*

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However, the CDC states flies carry worms; that can pass to animals and humans. When these infected flies land near the eyes and feed on tears, they spread the worms. A common sign of infection is ulcers on the eyes and in some cases, the worms can even cause blindness.

According to Kevin, the fly probably collects the baby worms and then carries them to a new host, whether it’s another animal or a human.

Black bears are found all over the United States. Scientists worry this could help the parasite spread more easily from wild bears to humans by flies.