The Tropical
Worm Lab
We are a research group dedicated to the study of parasitic helminths of veterinary, wildlife, and human importance. We work closely with communities and vets to provide an accurate diagnosis of these agents.
About parasites and helminths
Parasites are among the most fascinating living creatures on Earth, keeping an ancient and finely tuned association with their hosts
Helminths are a burden for approximately a billion humans suffering from neglected tropical diseases and billions of companion and production animals, as well as wildlife. Not only do helminths produce acute and chronic diseases, but in instances of heavy infections, these can lead to the death of their hosts.
Helminths are multicellular parasitic and free-living organisms that are classified into two main phyla: Nematoda and Platyhelminthes. The phylum Nematoda has pseudocoelomate parasites of animals and plants which are, in the vast majority, sexually dimorphic. On the other hand, platyhelminths are acoelomates and mainly monoecious organisms composed mainly of trematodes and cestodes.
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