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In fact, they are probably the most important of these parasite-mediated viruses, which are how they function, the body's immune system and cause infections were uncovered.
New treatments for parasitic infections would improve the quality of life for the trillion of people worldwide that fall prey to parasites. One study estimated that one in six people are infected by parasitic worms at some point or the other in their lives.
Deworming is already a well-known treatment for people and pets, but the study's findings suggest the scope of deworming treatments.
There are many unexplored treatments for neglected tropical diseases like river blindness and hookworm disease, which deworming still does not treat, according to the study.
An artistic representation of a parasitic worm. Image courtesy: Discover / Science Photo Co.
"Parasitic worms are some of our oldest and most successful experts in the human immune system," Dr. Makedonka Mitreva of Washington University's McDonnell Genome Institute, co-author of the study, Told Reuters.
A better understanding of parasite biology and insight into how they escape the reach of our immune system is two of the key takeaways the study could help uncover.
A total of 81 different animal parasites were studied by the team, half of which had their genome sequenced for research.
The outcome: a million unknown genes and many new potential targets for deworming drugs.
Some of the newly-discovered genes could open up fast-track methods to treat infections, or be more effective in combination with existing drugs for deworming, Dr. Avril Coghlan of the Sanger Institute, who worked on the team, Told Reuters.
The medicines currently being offered for parasitic infections are not very effective and are often given by pharma giants like Sanofi and GSK to those in need of them.
The spectrum of treatment for infections remains stunted. But the study is likely to change the way for parasitic infections are developed.
The findings were published in the newspaper Nature Genetics.
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