Not All Worms Were Created Equal
Journal Contribution ResearchOnline@JCUAbstract
[Extract] Whilst we support the need to report safety outcomes from experimental therapy of any kind, including the use of helminths as therapy, we believe that it is important to critically examine the causal relationship of the reported event to the proposed etiology so that a balanced view of the cause and effect be arrived at. This is particularly the case in an uncontrolled setting where formal processes for documenting and reporting experimental therapy may not be in place. Recent reviews of studies with one of the most widely used helminths, the anthropophilic hookworm, Necator americanus, have shown this helminth to be safe and well tolerated in hundreds of individuals by numerous research groups across Australia, the US and Europe (1–3). In BMC Pulmonary Medicine (4), Zeynalyan and colleagues report rapidly progressive respiratory failure in a patient with significant comorbidities, including systemic sclerosis, interstitial lung disease and pulmonary hypertension after self-administration of N. americanus larvae that were purchased over the internet. Here we raise some concerns about this report.
Journal
Frontiers in Immunology
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Volume
13
ISBN/ISSN
1664-3224
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Issue
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Pages Count
2
Location
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Publisher
Frontiers Research
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Publisher Location
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Publish Date
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Date
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EISSN
N/A
DOI
10.3389/fimmu.2022.877707