Parasites & People

Parasites & People

From The Infectious Science Podcast by Galveston National Laboratory

March 6, 2026 · 34 min · Season 4 · Episode 5

About this episode

This episode explores the relationship between parasites and human health, examining their origins and effects on the body.

Send us Fan Mail Parasites spark equal parts fascination and fear—and they reveal how closely our health is tied to animals, food, water, and the places we live. We take you from the “heirlooms” we inherited from primate ancestors to the “souvenirs” picked up through agriculture and travel, then unpack what parasites actually do to the human body and why some symptoms are red flags while others are everyday noise. Along the way, we fact-check the social media wellness trend pushing “parasite ...

Topics covered

  • parasites
  • human health
  • animal health
  • agriculture
  • travel
  • symptoms
  • wellness trends

Keywords

  • parasites
  • health
  • symptoms
  • agriculture
  • travel
  • wellness

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Galveston National Laboratory

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