Nick Zarlinga
"If we ignore nature.....maybe it'll go away."
----- Original Message -----
From: "Joshua L Wiegert" <jlw_at_dune.net>
To: <nanfa_at_aquaria.net>
Sent: Saturday, February 07, 2004 10:21 PM
Subject: Re: NANFA-- anchor worm in humans?
> Nick and all.
>
> Either this is a different organism called an Anchor worm, or a practical
> joke. Lernea spp., what you and I are calling an Anchor Worm, that shows
up
> all the time on cyprinids (esp. goldfish and koi) is simply not capable of
> infecting a human being. Most parasites are incredibly specific to
host --
> evolutionarily, this makes sense. Not only are they therefore best
adapted
> to combat their hosts natural defense, but they're isolated on their host.
> An anchor worm is just not likely to swim off a fish and breed with a
> closely related species on, say, a turtle. Its more likely to breed on
with
> anchor worms on the same fish. This is especially true of internal
> parasites, but remains an important isolating mechanism in external
> parasites as well (as well as any type of organism that lives "on"
another.)
> I certainly can't imagine the anchor worm even surviving outside of
> water....
>
> I have only occassionally even seen it on tropical water fishes --
typically
> cyprinids. Anchor worm scarcely seems able to infect tropicals, such as
> cichlids, characins livebearers, etc. (Unfortunately, I've never looked
> into the mechanisms that seem to prohibit it from infecting the tropicals,
> its definitely not temperature.... yet its common on non-cyprinid
coldwater
> fish, such as bass and perch.... Something I'll have to figure out some
> day.) I've hand-picked ... more anchor worms than I'd dare count from
fish.
> Its an effective way to prevent spread on an incoming shipment -- you
remove
> all the visible worms, and generally the parasite won't infect the
remaining
> stock. (Of course, this won't work to eradicate an infection in a
> population, simply seems to limit introduction.)
>
> The fact that it would up on the NANFA mailing list seems to point towards
a
> practical joke. If its not, I do appologise to John and hope he can get
> everything sorted out with his own version of anchor worm (and I'll be
> slightly curious to know what human-parasite has earned the same name.)
> However, in the aquarium retail business, I fielded numerous questions
that
> were little more than practical jokes, from the guy who claimed his next
> door neighboor had put a pirahna in his koi pond (which had eaten all of
his
> koi, and his dog, and he was afraid to go into the yard....) to the guy
who
> claimed that his "very expensive mouthbrooding cichlid" had mistaken his
> fingertip for a fry and would not release it. (Conversely, I must admit
to
> occassionally giving people ... strange bits of advice to solve their
> problems... But nevermind that. :)
>
>
> --
> end
> ____^___
> ><,DARWIN,>
> Joshua L. Wiegert
>
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
> -=-
> "Nature" is made possible by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
>
> Doubt is not a pleasant state of mind, but certainy is absurd.
> -- Voltaire (1767)
>
> Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they
> have to say something.
> -- Plato
>
> ... Had this been an actual emergency, we would have fled in terror, and
> you would not have been informed.
>
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
> -=-
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "njz" <njz_at_clevelandmetroparks.com>
> To: <jday212_at_comcast.net>
> Cc: "NANFA" <nanfa_at_aquaria.net>; "Chris Bonar (zoo)"
> <cjb_at_clevelandmetroparks.com>
> Sent: Friday, February 06, 2004 11:18 PM
> Subject: NANFA-- anchor worm in humans?
>
>
> > John, I must say that I find this incredibly unusual. There are only a
> few
> > zoonotic diseases that transfer from fish to humans but anchor worm is
> > certainly not one of them! I wonder if the anchor worm that was
diagnosed
> is
> > actually a different beast than the anchor worm that we find on fish.
Can
> you
> > give us any symptoms of your condition? I will forward this to our list
> > server and a couple of other people that I know. I will get replies to
> you as
> > they come in. Good luck.
> >
> > Nick Zarlinga
> >
> >
> > "If we ignore nature.....maybe it'll go away."
> >
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: John Day
> > To: junk1_at_fish.la.asu.edu
> > Sent: Friday, February 06, 2004 12:37 PM
> > Subject: nanfa
> >
> >
> > Dear Sir;
> >
> > I have been diagnosed as having an Anchor worm in my body. I have
> not
> > been able to find any human cases. I am on my way to Miami, Fl. to
Jackson
> > Memorial Hospital from Kennesaw, Ga. Jackson Memorial has a top notch
> parasite
> > division. I have had this infection for at least 7 months. My 6 year-
old
> > daughter had a nauplius stage organism on her lip on Wednesday.
> >
> > Any info you might be able to provide me would be greatly
> appreciated!
> >
> > My cell # is 404-422-6760.
> >
> >
> >
> > Thank you,
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > John D. Day
> --
> > /"Unless stated otherwise, comments made on this list do not necessarily
> > / reflect the beliefs or goals of the North American Native Fishes
> > / Association"
> > / This is the discussion list of the North American Native Fishes
> Association
> > / nanfa_at_aquaria.net. To subscribe, unsubscribe, or get help, send the
word
> > / subscribe, unsubscribe, or help in the body (not subject) of an email
to
> > / nanfa-request_at_aquaria.net. For a digest version, send the command to
> > / nanfa-digest-request_at_aquaria.net instead.
> > / For more information about NANFA, visit our web page,
> http://www.nanfa.org
-- > /"Unless stated otherwise, comments made on this list do not necessarily > / reflect the beliefs or goals of the North American Native Fishes > / Association" > / This is the discussion list of the North American Native Fishes Association > / nanfa_at_aquaria.net. To subscribe, unsubscribe, or get help, send the word > / subscribe, unsubscribe, or help in the body (not subject) of an email to > / nanfa-request_at_aquaria.net. For a digest version, send the command to > / nanfa-digest-request_at_aquaria.net instead. > / For more information about NANFA, visit our web page, http://www.nanfa.org /----------------------------------------------------------------------------- /"Unless stated otherwise, comments made on this list do not necessarily / reflect the beliefs or goals of the North American Native Fishes / Association" / This is the discussion list of the North American Native Fishes Association / nanfa_at_aquaria.net. To subscribe, unsubscribe, or get help, send the word / subscribe, unsubscribe, or help in the body (not subject) of an email to / nanfa-request_at_aquaria.net. For a digest version, send the command to / nanfa-digest-request_at_aquaria.net instead. / For more information about NANFA, visit our web page, http://www.nanfa.org