Worm "horsehair" - a real threat to humans?

The "horsehair" worm brings a lot of fear to people. And how can you not frighten a creature that is able to sneak into your body and stay there for a long time to live there? Even imagine such a terrible and very unpleasant.

"Horsehair" (worm) has another name - nematomorph or gordiyatseya. Like a worm "horse hair" ordinary round worms, and in length it can reach from fifty to one hundred centimeters. There were cases when this parasite reached a size equal to two meters! And this despite the fact that the diameter of the worm "horsehair" is not more than one to three millimeters. These parasites live in places with high humidity, such as swamps, rivers, lakes, ponds, etc. Adult worms can live freely and do not need a carrier, but their larvae need it. They settle on beetles, cockroaches, orthopteran insects and crustaceans. There are about three hundred and fifty species of this parasite, and it is believed that there can still be about two thousand freshwater species in the world.

The "horsehair" worm, getting under the skin, absorbs all the nutrients. Interesting is the fact that, when entering the body of a creature that has absorbed its carrier, the larva can leave the body of the unexpected host. Another amazing fact is the way to "return home", I mean in the water, one of the kinds of "horse hair" called Spinochordodes tellinii. Its larvae parasitize on orthopteran insects. It is able to infect the brain of the victim, so she begins to fly in search of water, in which she drowns, returning the larva to her favorite habitat.

People have previously told many terrible stories about this worm. About the fact that this is a revived horsehair, and this predator probuvalivaet human skin and eats its insides. In addition, people believed that such worms can penetrate into their skin during bathing, and they penetrate inside usually through the heel. After that, the worm eats up the human's interior or "reaches the heart". In addition to all this, a few years ago, all the newspapers just blew up the terrible news about the appearance of a strange and terrible disease called "horse hair". His symptoms made everyone terrified: the whole body of the infected person was constantly scratching, something was moving constantly under the skin, and organic threads and other substances of unknown origin emerged from the abscesses on the skin. The patient was terribly tormented, and the doctors at the same time just got their hands up, being powerless before the infection appeared. According to various reports, only rituals, conspiracies and various alternative medicine could cure unhappy martyrs. However, this parasite here was with nothing.

So after all, this disgusting parasite "horsehair", a worm, what is dangerous? Yes, nothing! (Ta-dam! That's revealed a great secret and the main intrigue). This worm does not parasitize a person, and he does not care about you at all. His larvae live only in insects, and their plans do not include settling in your warm and cozy body. So you can relax and breathe peacefully - "horse hair" does not affect the life span.