A study has suggested that lifetime of Ascaris lumbricoides, which is a type of roundworm, infection could result in extra children.
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Experts in the fertility field stated that these findings could improve In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) by developing new means and treatment for those women showing troubles to getting pregnant in the future. They inspected the issue after a colleague, Melanie Martin, also of UCSB, thought that her infection caused her to become pregnant despite failure to conceive before. But the new study suggests the opposite.
“The effects are unexpectedly large”, said Prof Aaron Blackwell, one of the researchers for the BBC News website. The BBC reports that researchers have found a correlation between a certain type of roundworm infection and the number of children born to indigenous women in Bolivia. The reason why they were interested in these particular women was that among them, the average birth rate is of nine children per woman.
Researchers also note that this is not a shared feature among multiple parasites. Other outlets reminded women that they should definitely not try this at home, so whatever you do, please don’t mention any of this to your friend from high school who’s always preaching alkaline diets and railing against vaccines on Facebook. These comments were largely meant as a joke, and nothing else.
The nine-year study was branded “intriguing” and one that would spark much more investigation.
The team does not yet know what is responsible for the effect, but it could be to do with the women’s immune systems.
Outsiders have reacted with intrigue to the study, stating that the potential seems interesting even if there are a lot of questions still unanswered.
A study published in the journal Science says the worm alters the immune system to make pregnancy more likely, and infection can lead to women having two more children than they otherwise would.
Roundworm infection reduced the length of intervals between births over the course of reproductive lifetime, the results revealed, while hookworm infection increased birth intervals.
Apparently, though, the positive effects are limited to the Ascaris lumbricoides species, as hookworms appeared to actually reduce fertility.
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But Prof Maizels said parasites did the opposite, “growing slowly and trying to suppress the immune system”, which is why they make vaccines less effective and lower levels of allergies.
