Tsimane women in Bolivia have an average of nine children in the family.
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In conclusion, parasites are not all bad, and especially if you’re a woman who’s trying to get pregnant, you might think twice before saying “ew!”.
As a result, the researchers estimated hookworm-infected women would have three fewer children than uninfected women during the course of their reproductive lifespan, while roundworm-infected women would have two additional children.
Researchers have announced that a species of parasitic worm could boost women’s fertility.
Infection with roundworm was associated with earlier first births and shortened inter-birth intervals, but infection with the hookworm was associated with delayed first pregnancy and extended inter-birth intervals.
The studies conducted on the 986 indigenous Tsimane women in Bolivia for nine years revealed that women infected with scaris lumbricoides had about two more children than women without the worm.
“This study examines yet another domain where helminths and their regulatory effect on the immune system may be relevant to broader aspects of health and well-being”, said co-author Michael Gurven, a UCSB anthropology professor and co-director of the Tsimane Life History and Health Project.
‘Their population growth rate is nearly 4 percent, so every 17 years or so, they double their numbers’. This raised the conjecture if the conception had anything to do with her helminth infection. Such infections, he added, may significantly affect the demographics in developing countries.
As many as one-third of the population globally also has such infections.
Another fertility scientist, Professor Allan Pacey at the University of Sheffield, said the results could lead to new drugs for women wanting to become pregnant. The latter results were consistent for young women.
A parasite immunologist from the University of Edinburgh, Rick Maizels said that this was an original study and is likely to trigger lot more investigations.
More than 1 billion people are infected with intestinal worms, mainly in tropical areas with poor sanitation.
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Intestinal worms, or soil-transmitted helminths (STH), are caused by a group of parasitic worms, most commonly hookworm, roundworm (ascariasis) and whipworm (trichuriasis) that are either transmitted through contaminated soil or by ingesting parasite eggs, according to The End Fund.
