A California man explores hookworms as a way to cure his allergies, but when no lab will sell him the parasites, he takes radical action. Then, a 5-year-old girl notices a red dot on her foot that appears to be alive.
A California man explores hookworms as a way to cure his allergies, but when no lab will sell him the parasites, he takes radical action. Then, a 5-year-old girl notices a red dot on her foot that appears to be alive.
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Find episode transcripts here: https://monsters-inside-me.simplecast.com/episodes/double-agents
MUSIC IN HOST VO A ravenous monster invades a traveler’s nose and starts to drink his blood. BROUGHTON COBURN OC/VO Slowly, methodically a small eel-like creature emerges, waves around and then retreats. What the hell is going on here? HOST VO A landscaper is pushed to the edge of insanity and left with a terrifying dilemma. JASPER LAWRENCE VO/OC It can’t go on getting worse forever and ever like this. The only way that can possibly end is in death. HOST VO And a little girl’s body becomes a breeding ground for a hungry critter. Her family must find out what it is before it’s too late. MONIQUE ELS VO/OC I’ve been looking at my foot. I actually see something move, and at that point, it’s just really scary. It was living inside me. |
HOST VO Three voracious parasites. They are cunning. They are dangerous, but they just might save your life. They are the Double Agents. |
MUSIC SEGUE HOST VO Worms invisible to the human eye, insects thirsty for blood, microscopic amoeba. They might look harmless, but these are some of nature’s deadliest creatures. They can hijack our bodies, disable our immune systems. They are parasites, but to those infected they are the Monsters Inside Me. |
HOST VO Parasites are creatures that depend on other living organisms called hosts so they can feed and reproduce. DAN RISKIN VO/OC All parasites have one thing in common. They have a relationship with a host, and the parasite wins from that relationship while the host loses. HOST VO But not all parasites behave the same way. DAN RISKIN VO/OC A couple of parasites have actually been caught helping the enemy. |
DAN RISKIN OC These double agents provide unexpected benefits to their hosts, but for the hosts, those benefits don’t always outweigh the costs. |
MUSIC SEGUE HOST VO Spring, 1973. Broughton Coburn is a Peace Corps volunteer stationed in the developing nation of Nepal. BROUGHTON COBURN VO/OC I went to Nepal in 1973, and I was assigned by the Peace Corps to teach science directly south of the Annapurna and Dhaulagiri ranges of the Himalayas at 5,000 feet. HOST VO Broughton feels at home living among the tallest mountains in the world. BROUGHTON COBURN VO/OC I was quite excited to be in a place where I saw that people were living in a certain harmony with their own environment. I felt that I had an unusual connection to the place. HOST VO But Nepal’s majestic environment is also home to one of the most terrifying parasites on the planet. |
| MUSIC SEGUE |
HOST VO One morning in Kathmandu, Broughton is running errands. BROUGHTON COBURN VO So, I’m walking into… |
BROUGHTON COBURN OC/VO …the Peace Corps office in Kathmandu, and I collected my mail, and as I was looking down at the aerogram reading the news from the United States, a drop of blood fell from my nose onto the aerogram. And then another drop fell on it. HOST VO The nosebleed seems to come out of nowhere. BROUGHTON COBURN VO/OC I reach for a handkerchief to stop the blood, and I gather my things, and I walk around the office, and another drop of blood falls from my nose. HOST VO Unable to stop the bleeding, Broughton gathers his things and walks out to the street. BROUGHTON COBURN VO And I sit outside the office for about 20 minutes, and it continues to bleed. HOST VO Broughton’s had nosebleeds before, but this one is different. BROUGHTON COBURN OC/VO A drop here, a drop there, every few seconds, and then it would stop for several minutes and then start again. It didn’t seem to follow any pattern. I’m curious about what’s going on, and in that part of the world, |
BROUGHTON COBURN OC …I tried not to take any symptom of a medical problem very lightly. |
HOST VO Fortunately, a Peace Corps medical office… MUSIC SEGUE …run by an English doctor is right around the corner. |
BROUGHTON COBURN VO/OC So, I walk into the medical office, and I tell him that my nose has been bleeding off and on sporadically for about 20 minutes. HOST VO The doctor examines the inside of Broughton’s nose. BROUGHTON COBURN VO/OC And he takes a look inside and announces that he can’t see anything of significance and that perhaps the altitude, |
BROUGHTON COBURN OC …the change in altitude, affected me. |
HOST VO The doctor explains that the dry air… |
HOST VO …found at high altitudes is a common cause of nosebleeds. |
BROUGHTON COBURN VO He gave me some nasal… |
BROUGHTON COBURN OC …spray and said, “This should help,” and sent me off. |
HOST VO Broughton returns home, hopeful that the nasal spray will put a stop to the strange bleeding. BROUGHTON COBURN VO Certainly, |
BROUGHTON COBURN OC …something like this would, would clear up. |
MUSIC SEGUE HOST VO When Broughton wakes up… |
HOST VO …the… |
HOST VO …next morning, the nosebleed has gone. BROUGHTON COBURN VO It is stopped, but… |
BROUGHTON COBURN OC …I really just didn’t know what to think. |
| MUSIC SEGUE |
HOST VO But little does Broughton know the nosebleed was just the beginning. |
HOST VO One week later, he’s returning home from a busy day at work. BROUGHTON COBURN VO/OC And I’m riding my bike, and I can swear that I see something coming out of my nose from the corner of my eye, and I reach up to touch it, and there’s nothing there. And so, I ride along the street farther, and I see it again, and I reach up again, but there’s, there’s nothing there, and it’s almost like it’s a mirage or an illusion, and I’m about to go crazy. And so I decide to pull over to the side of the road, and I step into a tea shop. HOST VO Broughton sits down at a table to catch his breath. BROUGHTON COBURN VO/OC I decided to pause for a moment and just collect my wits and senses, and maybe this thing, mirage or no mirage, might emerge again, and I order a cup of tea, and as the young boy was bringing a tray full of tea, he takes one look at me, and he drops the tray of tea and runs out of the tea shop. So, my mind is racing. I’m wondering what the hell is going on here? HOST VO Based on the boy’s hysterical reaction, Broughton comes to a sinister conclusion. BROUGHTON COBURN VO/OC I was aware that in Asia, if you look at someone who you feel may have been infested by the hex of a witch, for instance, you should never look them in the eye. So, there was something about me that was conveying that I had been affected by some kind of hex or evil spirit. HOST VO Broughton jumps back on his bike and knows just the man to see, a legendary… |
HOST VO …Nepalese healer named Dr. Mana. |
BROUGHTON COBURN VO/OC I was quite confident that Dr. Mana, with his years, decades, of local knowledge, would have seen something like this before. HOST VO When Broughton arrives at Dr. Mana’s office, he’s taken to see the healer right away. After he hears Broughton’s story, Dr. Mana invites Broughton into a brighter area so he can perform an examination. BROUGHTON COBURN VO/OC And so I’m trembling slightly, and Dr. Mana is squatted beside me. I’m sitting there for nearly ten minutes, and then slowly, methodically, mysteriously, without any sensation to my nose whatsoever, a small, brown, eel-like creature emerges, and it waves around and then retreats. What was strange and eerie is that this creature offered no physical sensation whatsoever. I couldn’t feel a thing. So, I’m horrified, and so at that point, I’m confused. I’m disoriented. My head is spinning. HOST VO Even after 40 years in Eastern medicine, Dr. Mana can hardly believe what has just happened. BROUGHTON COBURN VO And… |
BROUGHTON COBURN OC …he said, “Oh, it’s a leech.” MUSIC SEGUE |
HOST VO Broughton has been infected by an aquatic leech. A leech is a small segmented worm that can live on land or in fresh water. While some leeches are predators that feed on the flesh of dead organisms, parasitic leeches feed on their living hosts’ blood. Once it finds a host, the leech latches onto the flesh with its oral sucker and drains the host’s blood until it is full. When a leech infects the nasal cavity, it sinks its sucker into the flesh and feasts on blood. The leech releases a powerful anticoagulant into the bloodstream, increasing the volume of blood flowing into the parasite’s body. The leech is what’s causing Broughton’s nosebleed. |
DAN RISKIN VO The scientific name for leeches is Hirudinae, and when a leech… |
DAN RISKIN OC …feeds, it releases an anticoagulant into the bloodstream called Hirudin, and that stops the blood from clotting, which keeps the blood flowing and allows the leech to feed… |
DAN RISKIN VO …for a long period of time. |
HOST VO But the anticoagulant isn’t the only chemical the leech is capable of injecting into its host. |
DAN RISKIN VO When a leech feeds, it releases a powerful anesthetic that makes its bite… |
DAN RISKIN OC …virtually painless, and this allows it to feed for long periods of time without being detected. |
HOST VO This is why Broughton never felt the leech living in his nose moving. But how did a leech find its way into Broughton’s nose in the first place? |
HOST VO The aquatic leech begins its life as a free-living egg in the water where it hatches and matures into an adult. If it can, the adult leech will… |
HOST VO …latch… |
HOST VO …onto a warm blooded animal, often a mammal like a deer. It feeds on the deer’s blood until it is full, then returns to the water. Once back in the water, the leech lays hundreds of tiny… |
HOST VO …eggs, and the life cycle repeats. |
HOST VO The doctor asks Broughton if he has been in contact with any fresh water sources. BROUGHTON COBURN VO I remembered that… |
BROUGHTON COBURN OC …three weeks earlier at 12,000 feet elevation when I was trekking for work… |
BROUGHTON COBURN VO …in the Himalayas, |
BROUGHTON COBURN VO …I had bent down to a stream and placed my face in the stream to drink water. HOST VO When Broughton submerged his face in the stream three weeks before, a baby leech entered his nose and started to feed and grow inside him. BROUGHTON COBURN OC/VO And he explained that the leech had gorged itself with blood over the three weeks that it was in my nose |
HOST VO But ridding himself of the leech that has taken up… |
HOST VO …residence in his nose will not be easy. Dr. Mana has some bad news. BROUGHTON COBURN VO/OC And Dr. Mana says, “I have been a physician for 40 years here, and I have never seen any creature emerging from anybody’s nose before.” Well, at that point, I got quite worried and concerned. He finally says, “I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to help you.” I was really flabbergasted, I was wondering if this… |
BROUGHTON COBURN VO …thing, |
BROUGHTON COBURN VO …this eel-like animal… |
BROUGHTON COBURN OC …was attached somewhere inside my brain. What was going to happen here? |
| MUSIC OUT |
| MUSIC IN |
HOST VO Peace Corps volunteer Broughton Coburn has a leech living inside his nose and feeding on his blood. The bad news is that the local doctors have no idea how to get the creature out. BROUGHTON COBURN VO/OC At that point, I was really flabbergasted, and I was wondering if this thing was attached somewhere inside my brain. What was… |
BROUGHTON COBURN OC …going to happen here? |
MUSIC SEGUE HOST VO Desperate for answers, Broughton tracks down the Peace Corps’ own… |
HOST VO …doctor. BROUGHTON COBURN VO/OC I explained everything that’s happened, and I asked him if he can take it out. HOST VO The Peace Corps doctor has never extracted a leech from someone’s nose before but agrees to try and remove the monster that is living inside Broughton’s nasal passage. BROUGHTON COBURN OC/VO It’s as if he doesn’t even want to approach me or get close, but he looks dedicated to trying to do something. He’s mustered some courage, and he says, “Let’s just see if we can try to grab this thing.” HOST VO In order to draw the leech out of Broughton’s nose, the doctor tries an unconventional strategy. He believes that splashing water near the nose will attract the thirsty leech. When the leech comes out, the doctor will try to grab it with a long tweezer-like tool called hemostats. BROUGHTON COBURN VO/OC I splash water up my nose, and he sits there patiently, and the creature emerges, waves around, but the second he closes the hemostats, it would disappear. He tries that for 15 or 20 minutes and is unable to even touch it. HOST VO It’s beginning to seem like the leech is just too cunning to be caught. Then, without warning, the doctor gets a lucky break. BROUGHTON COBURN VO/OC He gets a hold of the end of it, and it’s at that point that I had a physical sensation of this creature for the very first time as if there was a suction cup pulling on me from somewhere deep within my nasal passages. HOST VO With the leech in his grip, the doctor starts to pull on the parasite that has latched onto the inside of Broughton’s nose. BROUGHTON COBURN VO/OC And I have to brace myself on the side walls, and this thing is getting stretched out nearly eight inches, eight inches, ten inches, almost a foot, and he, he’s looking at it cross-eyed. It seemed to be locked in some kind of immortal combat. And then finally, thwap. And he holds up in the hemostats a leech dripping water, brown and slimy. HOST VO Broughton is finally face-to-face with his slimy tormentor. BROUGHTON COBURN VO/OC I was amazed to sit there and stare and ponder this thing had been living in my nose for at least 18 days, and finally it was gone. Finally our relationship was severed. MUSIC SEGUE All of a sudden, I could breathe better. My nose didn’t bleed at all. My spirits were lifted. It was as if a cloudy sky had cleared. HOST VO Just to be sure there are no more leeches, the doctor thoroughly examines Broughton’s nose and confirms that his patient’s nasal cavity is clear. |
HOST VO Today, Broughton… |
HOST VO …remains… |
HOST VO …parasite-free, but he has never forgotten about his disturbing ordeal. BROUGHTON COBURN VO/OC And I suppose that my experience with the leech has changed me. It has reminded me that anything can happen and that the unusual and the bizarre can be around the corner for almost anyone. |
HOST VO To avoid becoming a meal for an aquatic leech, travelers to countries in central and southeast Asia should use nose plugs when swimming in fresh water streams and ponds. |
MUSIC SEGUE HOST VO But although leeches are voracious parasites, they can also help to save human lives. DAN RISKIN VO Leeches have been used in medicine for thousands… |
DAN RISKIN OC/VO …of years, originally as an effective way for doctors to draw blood, and recently, the leech has reemerged as a valuable tool in risky surgical procedures. In a situation where there’s been a major injury to the skin, a leech can be very effective at keeping blood flowing through the area so that healing can occur. |
HOST VO The leech’s ability to secrete anticoagulants makes it a surprising… |
HOST VO …ally for some. DAN RISKIN VO Leeches are parasites. |
DAN RISKIN OC/VO But because we’ve found a way to use them to our advantage, we’ve turned them into double agents. Other parasites have made that transition on their own. MUSIC OUT MUSIC IN |
HOST VO 1994, nature lover Jasper… |
HOST VO …Lawrence is enjoying life in the great outdoors near his home in northern California. JASPER LAWRENCE VO I love running. |
JASPER LAWRENCE OC I love riding bikes. I love swimming. |
JASPER LAWRENCE VO I’ve always enjoyed being healthy and active. |
HOST VO When he’s not busy exercising, Jasper runs a landscaping business with his brother and works long hours mowing lawns, trimming hedges and clearing brush. JASPER LAWRENCE VO What appealed to me… |
JASPER LAWRENCE OC …about being a landscaper was… |
JASPER LAWRENCE VO …it allowed me to work outdoors. It was a really nice job. HOST VO But Jasper’s dream career… |
HOST VO …is about to become a living nightmare. |
HOST VO One early morning in late summer, |
HOST VO …Jasper and his brother are hard at work at a client’s house. JASPER LAWRENCE VO/OC It was set on a hillside. Just an idyllic day and our job was to clear some brush from a hillside. HOST VO But as Jasper is clearing a mass of overgrown brush, he hears a loud buzzing sound coming from a pile of leaves. JASPER LAWRENCE VO/OC Next thing I know I’m surrounded by a cloud of bees, and they’re stinging me on my neck and my abdomen. I was in a complete panic. HOST VO Jasper races across the yard to escape the horde of angry bees, but it’s too late. JASPER LAWRENCE OC/VO I ended up with maybe nine, ten bee stings, and immediately I started to feel strange. MUSIC SEGUE HOST VO Jasper’s body starts to react violently to the bee stings. JASPER LAWRENCE VO/OC My fingertips are going numb. My lips, nose, face is tingling and feeling swollen, and very quickly I’m feeling tight-chested, and I’m having trouble breathing. I had no idea what was going on. HOST VO Jasper’s brother soon notices that his sibling is in trouble. JASPER LAWRENCE VO Well, my brother immediately tells me to drop everything, and, “We’re going to the hospital immediately.” He hurried me into the truck, and we took off driving… |
JASPER LAWRENCE OC …pretty fast because we were a fair distance away from the hospital. |
HOST VO A few seconds later, Jasper’s breathing difficulties get even worse. JASPER LAWRENCE VO/OC During that drive, it became harder and harder to breathe. I became more and more frightened, and I was wondering… |
JASPER LAWRENCE VO …where… |
JASPER LAWRENCE OC …it was gonna end. HOST VO But for Jasper, the shortness of breath is only the beginning of a terrifying descent into the world… |
HOST VO …of… |
HOST VO …human parasites. |
| MUSIC OUT |
| MUSIC IN |
MUSIC SEGUE HOST VO Jasper Lawrence has just been stung by a horde of bees, causing a violent reaction in his body. On the way to the emergency room, Jasper can barely breathe. |
JASPER LAWRENCE VO I became… |
JASPER LAWRENCE VO/OC …more and more frightened and almost hysterical from fear and panic. I was wondering where it was gonna end. |
| MUSIC SEGUE |
HOST VO By the time he arrives at the hospital, Jasper’s airways are so swollen that he’s unable to speak. E.R. doctors immediately rush him into intensive care. JASPER LAWRENCE VO/OC They started giving me shots, taking my blood pressure, all that stuff. HOST VO After reviewing Jasper’s vital signs, the E.R. doctors come up a diagnosis. They tell Jasper he’s suffering from a severe allergic reaction to the bee stings. |
JASPER LAWRENCE VO I had been stung by bees before but only ever one at a time. I’d… |
JASPER LAWRENCE OC …never had multiple bee stings. |
HOST VO To stop the potentially deadly allergic reaction, Jasper’s doctors inject him with a hormone that suppresses the body’s allergic… |
HOST VO …response… |
HOST VO …to the bee venom. JASPER LAWRENCE VO Once they gave me the injections, |
JASPER LAWRENCE OC …things started to ease fairly… |
JASPER LAWRENCE VO …quickly going back to normal. HOST VO Within the hour, Jasper can breathe again, and his other symptoms begin to subside. |
MUSIC SEGUE HOST VO The doctor then tests Jasper for a series of other possible allergies. |
HOST VO The… |
HOST VO …results are shocking. In addition to bee venom, Jasper is allergic to grass, plants and pollen and has developed an acute case of asthma. JASPER LAWRENCE VO He wrote prescriptions for various… |
JASPER LAWRENCE OC …inhalers and pills… |
JASPER LAWRENCE VO …to help me manage my allergy symptoms. HOST VO Jasper returns home with a regimen of allergy drugs, which he adheres to diligently… |
HOST VO …for the next few months. JASPER LAWRENCE VO/OC As far as I could tell, the, the drugs really weren’t working. I wasn’t better, as time went on, my condition got worse and worse. HOST VO And the drugs themselves had their own side effects. JASPER LAWRENCE VO/OC Loss of bone density, obesity, severe acne, mood changes, personality changes. I put on an enormous amount of weight. My quality of life was declining, and yet my symptoms still continued to get worse and worse every year. I’m on this downward slope in terms of my health, and it’s pretty frightening. Modern medicine had nothing to offer me that was effective. |
HOST VO Then in 2004, |
HOST VO …Jasper travels to England to visit his Aunt Mary. Little does he know his life is about to change… |
HOST VO …forever. JASPER LAWRENCE VO So, I arrive at my Aunt Mary’s house, and… |
JASPER LAWRENCE OC …you know, I haven’t seen her in two, three, perhaps four years. |
JASPER LAWRENCE VO/OC So, she knew me and remembered me as this very fit, very active young man, I can still remember the shock on her face when I walked in the door. The change in me was, was so extreme. It was, it was shocking to my aunt. Well, my aunt and I are sitting at the, at the kitchen table, and we’re talking about my asthma and how, how badly it’s going, how it’s getting worse and worse over time. HOST VO Jasper’s story reminds Mary of a television documentary that she has seen recently. MUSIC SEGUE |
HOST VO The documentary focused on a ground-breaking new theory about how parasites… |
HOST VO …can… |
HOST VO …be used to treat human ailments, and it featured one parasite in particular, the hookworm. JASPER LAWRENCE VO/OC She talks to me about a documentary she has seen that suggests that hookworm infection in humans can… |
JASPER LAWRENCE OC …protect against asthma and allergies. |
DAN RISKIN VO Hookworms are… |
DAN RISKIN OC …bloodsucking intestinal parasites that have jagged rows of teeth which they use to hook into the flesh. |
HOST VO When a hookworm infects the human body, it burrows through the skin and enters the bloodstream. From there, the worm travels through the body and into the intestines. Then, the hookworm sinks its teeth into intestinal tissue and gorges itself on its host’s blood. But could this voracious parasite really help cure someone’s allergies? JASPER LAWRENCE VO You know, at first when you’re presented with this idea… |
JASPER LAWRENCE OC …that hookworms, intestinal parasites, might be able to be used to control things like asthma and allergies, |
JASPER LAWRENCE VO …you’re a little incredulous. How on Earth would such a thing be… |
JASPER LAWRENCE VO …possible? How would it work? MUSIC SEGUE DAN RISKIN VO Allergies occur… |
DAN RISKIN VO …when… |
DAN RISKIN OC …the immune system reacts to something that’s safe as though it were dangerous, an allergen like pollen, for example. |
HOST VO In an allergic reaction, the body mistakes an otherwise harmless substance, like pollen, as an invader and sends immune cells to attack, causing inflammation. Though it’s not proven, some believe that when hookworms are present in the body, the immune system’s response to allergens is somehow less severe. |
MUSIC SEGUE HOST VO Jasper is faced with a shocking dilemma, continue to live with his debilitating symptoms or deliberately infect himself with a human parasite. JASPER LAWRENCE VO/OC The idea of infecting yourself deliberately with a worm, with a parasite, is not an easy one, but the potential payoff to be free of asthma at last was just too great. It overwhelmed any revulsion or hesitation I felt about the process. I knew to have any hope of a normal life that I was going to have to infect myself with a hookworm. |
MUSIC SEGUE HOST VO And now, Inside the Monster. Which of the following parasites have been used for medicinal purposes? A, leeches. B, hookworms. C, maggots. D, all of the above. |
| MUSIC OUT |
| MUSIC IN |
MUSIC SEGUE HOST VO Which of the following parasites have been used for medicinal purposes? The answer is D, all of the above. |
| MUSIC SEGUE |
HOST VO Landscaper Jasper Lawrence has been crippled by severe allergies. Conventional medicine has done nothing, but a tip from his aunt has led Jasper to the last place most people would think to look for relief, a parasite called a hookworm. JASPER LAWRENCE VO/OC The idea of infecting yourself deliberately with a parasite is not an easy one, but the potential payoff was just too great. I knew that to have any hope of a normal life that I was going to have to infect myself with a hookworm. MUSIC SEGUE |
HOST VO But how could he go about infecting himself? JASPER LAWRENCE VO The way hookworms infect people is to… |
JASPER LAWRENCE OC …migrate through their skin. |
HOST VO When a human steps on hookworm-infested soil, the larvae can burrow through the skin and travel to the intestines. There they feed on blood and grow to maturity. The adult worm lays eggs, which are passed out in the host’s feces. The eggs hatch into larvae in the soil. When a new host steps on the infected soil, the life cycle continues. JASPER LAWRENCE VO In practice… |
JASPER LAWRENCE OC …what that means is if you want to infect yourself deliberately, you’re gonna have to walk barefoot… |
JASPER LAWRENCE VO …in the areas that infected people go to the toilet. |
DAN RISKIN VO Hookworm… |
DAN RISKIN OC …infection is one the most widespread parasitic diseases in the world. It affects an estimated 1.5 billion people worldwide. |
HOST VO Most cases of hookworm infection are found not in the United States but in the developing world. |
HOST VO So Jasper begins searching for countries with the highest rates of hookworm infection in the world. JASPER LAWRENCE VO/OC They’re not just gonna pass hookworms out to members of the general public. I realized that they weren’t gonna come to me, that I was gonna have to go to them. So, as I… |
JASPER LAWRENCE OC …was searching online, I, I did find a map published by WHO in 1999 showing the distribution of various intestinal parasites, including hookworm, in Cameroon. |
HOST VO Cameroon is a developing nation in western Africa. |
JASPER LAWRENCE VO It’s a very dangerous place, very low life expectancy, |
JASPER LAWRENCE OC …and a lot of really serious tropical… |
JASPER LAWRENCE VO …diseases. HOST VO But Jasper believes he has no other choice. He flies to Cameroon and hires a local… |
HOST VO …driver to… |
HOST VO …take him to a small village in a remote part of… |
HOST VO …the country. JASPER LAWRENCE VO So we arrived in the village, I and… |
JASPER LAWRENCE OC …the driver start walking towards where the, the villagers defecate when they go to the bathroom. It’s really hot. It’s well over a hundred degrees, perhaps 110 degrees. It’s a hundred percent… |
JASPER LAWRENCE VO …humidity. We’re pouring sweat, and the, the smell… |
JASPER LAWRENCE VO …the situation was overpoweringly horrible. I needed to go and walk in the areas that were the most repugnant, that were most repulsive, that were most repellant and disgusting, and it was very, very difficult to do. I vomited on more than one occasion on that first day. HOST VO By the end of the week, Jasper has walked through the latrines of over two dozen African villages. JASPER LAWRENCE VO/OC I treated it like a job. Every day early in the morning, by nine or ten in the morning, we were out on the road, and we’d come home every night around five or six. I am very worried. I’ve spent all this money. I’ve come all this way. I feel like my health depends upon it, and I don’t… |
JASPER LAWRENCE OC …know whether I’ve been successful. MUSIC SEGUE |
HOST VO Jasper returns home to California. |
HOST VO Three months later, in the middle of spring when the pollen is at its height, |
HOST VO …Jasper is driving down a rural highway. JASPER LAWRENCE VO So, I wound up the window… |
JASPER LAWRENCE OC/VO …and braced myself for the inevitable allergy attack, and I waited, and I waited, and I waited, and… |
JASPER LAWRENCE OC …it never happened. MUSIC SEGUE HOST VO Jasper comes to a stunning conclusion. His allergies are gone. JASPER LAWRENCE VO/OC I was ecstatic. In fact, I was, I was so thrilled I started yelling and screaming in the, in the car, and, you know, I was, I can honestly say that perhaps I’d never been happier in my entire life, and I haven’t had an allergy attack since. HOST VO For Jasper, infecting himself with the hookworm parasite rid him of his allergies. Today, Jasper remains infected with hookworms. As a host, he must monitor his health daily, as side effects of hookworm infection can include anemia, abdominal pain and weight loss. But for Jasper, the benefits outweigh the costs, and now that he’s allergy-free, Jasper has finally found a career that suits him. JASPER LAWRENCE VO/OC I’m a helminthic therapist. I provide intestinal worms to people for the treatment of immunological disorders. HOST VO Today, Jasper lives in England where he harvests hookworm larvae from his own body and sells them online. MUSIC SEGUE |
DAN RISKIN VO Because there’s still no definitive… |
DAN RISKIN OC …proof that a hookworm infection can relieve allergic symptoms, there are only very few people who are willing to get a parasite on purpose. For most people, a parasite is the last thing that they want. |
MUSIC SEGUE HOST VO November 24, 2004. Six-year-old California resident Monique Els and her parents, Antoinette… |
HOST VO …and Henning, are enjoying their annual vacation… |
HOST VO …on the… |
HOST VO …beach in Durbin, South Africa. ANTOINETTE ELS VO Monique was born in… |
ANTOINETTE ELS OC/VO …South Africa. We lived there until she was three years old, and then we came to the United States. HENNING ELS OC/VO We go back every year to visit the family. MONIQUE ELS VO/OC We would just play in sand, play in the ocean. It was a lot of fun. ANTOINETTE ELS VO For Monique, this is heaven on Earth. |
HOST VO But Monique’s trip… |
HOST VO …is about to become a journey into hell. After a long day at the beach, Monique is hanging out with her cousins. |
MONIQUE ELS VO/OC I was reading a book to them, and my foot all of a sudden started to itch. I just kind of brushed it off, and I scratched it, and then I kept on going. I thought that it was just a regular mosquito bite. When I go South Africa, I have a good 30 mosquito bites on my leg at one time. So, I was not worried. I thought it was just usual. |
MUSIC SEGUE HOST VO But the next morning, |
HOST VO …the itching on the bottom of Monique’s foot is even worse. So, Monique shows it to her mom. After a quick look, Antoinette assumes that the small red spot is just a bug bite. ANTOINETTE ELS VO/OC South Africa is bug heaven. Critters of all kinds there. I tell her to step lightly on the foot, but I thought it would be gone in a day or two. |
| MUSIC SEGUE |
HOST VO A few days later, Monique and her family head off to Johannesburg to visit relatives. |
| MUSIC SEGUE |
HOST VO When she arrives, Monique goes off to play with her cousins, but after a few minutes, she has a new sensation in her foot. MONIQUE ELS VO/OC All of a sudden, it just started to hurt again. At this point, my foot is burning, and it’s itching. |
MUSIC SEGUE HOST VO Monique asks her parents to take a look at her foot, and right away, they notice that the small red spot has grown to a raised red dot. HENNING ELS VO/OC The red dot on the bottom of Monique’s foot was odd to me. It was swollen, and it was red in color, and it looked like it was infected a little bit. ANTOINETTE ELS OC I am beginning to think that this couldn’t be a mosquito bite. It has to be something more. HOST VO There are hundreds of types of insects and other tiny organisms known to… |
HOST VO …be… |
HOST VO …endemic in South Africa. While many are harmless, some are known to kill. Among the most dangerous are the poisonous spiders. |
ANTOINETTE ELS VO My first thought is it could be a black widow. |
| MUSIC SEGUE |
HOST VO Black widow spiders are endemic to Africa and particularly South Africa. Their venom is highly toxic… |
HOST VO …and has been known to kill small children. ANTOINETTE ELS VO/OC If this is a black widow spider bite, then we need to get Monique to a hospital as fast as possible. HOST VO Is Monique’s bump really a spider bite or is it something even more sinister? |
| MUSIC OUT |
| MUSIC IN |
HOST VO Six-year-old Monique Els is on vacation in South Africa with her parents. She has an inflamed red bump on the bottom of her left foot that is becoming more painful by the minute. MONIQUE ELS VO I was really upset… |
MONIQUE ELS OC …because it just hurt so bad. |
HOST VO Her mother, Antoinette, is terrified that it might be a bite… |
HOST VO …from a black widow spider. ANTOINETTE ELS VO If this is a black widow spider bite, |
ANTOINETTE ELS VO …then we need to get… |
ANTOINETTE ELS OC …Monique to a hospital as fast as possible. MUSIC SEGUE |
HOST VO Monique’s parents, Antoinette and Henning, rush Monique to the local emergency room… |
MUSIC SEGUE HOST VO …where Monique is immediately… |
HOST VO …seen by a doctor. Right away, she tells the family that Monique has not been bitten by a poisonous spider. ANTOINETTE ELS VO/OC The doctor says that a black widow’s venom is so fast that she would be unconscious within 20, 30 minutes. HOST VO In fact, the medical team is not concerned at all. HENNING ELS VO/OC They did not think that it’s anything urgent. The doctor was not very concerned and then sent us off home. HOST VO The doctor prescribes Monique anti-itch cream. |
HOST VO For the next few days, Monique applies the cream diligently, and it seems to be working. |
MONIQUE ELS OC A week after I got the medicine, I thought I was fine now because there’s no more pain, no more itching. |
MONIQUE ELS VO I was back to normal. |
| MUSIC SEGUE |
HOST VO A few days later, the family returns to their home in Petaluma, California, |
HOST VO …and life returns to normal. But a few weeks after their return, |
HOST VO …Monique’s left foot begins to bother her again. MONIQUE ELS VO/OC And all of a sudden, my foot started hurting extremely, extremely bad. I couldn’t even put my foot on the ground. It would just hurt too bad. HOST VO Monique asks her parents to take a look. ANTOINETTE ELS VO/OC I turned over her foot, and there it is again, the red spot. It’s bigger. It’s red. It’s itchy. I’m thinking this isn’t possible. HOST VO The Els make a doctor’s appointment for a few days later. |
HOST VO But… |
HOST VO …the next morning, Monique is inspecting her foot when she notices something strange. MONIQUE ELS VO/OC As I’m looking at my foot, I actually see something move. At that point, it’s just really scary. I called my mom over, and she looked at it, and she said, “Oh, my gosh.” ANTOINETTE ELS VO/OC What is this, and how did it get there? MONIQUE ELS VO/OC I was completely grossed out. MUSIC SEGUE HOST VO Something is alive in her foot. Can doctors figure out what it is before it’s too late? |
| MUSIC IN |
HOST VO Something is alive in six-year-old Monique Els’… |
HOST VO …foot. |
MONIQUE ELS OC As I’m looking at my foot, I… |
MONIQUE ELS VO …actually see something move. |
MONIQUE ELS VO At that point, it’s just really scary. |
HOST VO Her mother, Antoinette, is terrified and immediately takes Monique to see… |
HOST VO …their pediatrician. MUSIC SEGUE ANTOINETTE ELS VO When the doctor… |
ANTOINETTE ELS VO …takes off Monique’s sock, he just couldn’t believe his eyes. He was totally perplexed. HOST VO The pediatrician makes a call to the local hospital and a few minutes later, he returns with a diagnosis. The doctors believe Monique has cutaneous myiasis. Cutaneous myiasis is a condition that occurs when fly larva, or… |
HOST VO …maggots, |
HOST VO …enter the body and start devouring human flesh. |
DAN RISKIN OC When a fly deposits eggs directly into the human body, that’s called myiasis. Myiasis can occur almost anywhere on the body from an open wound on the skin to the ears or the eyes, anywhere… |
DAN RISKIN VO …a fly lays its eggs. ANTOINETTE ELS VO It was unbelievable. It’s hard… |
ANTOINETTE ELS OC …for me to think about a parasite living in my daughter’s foot. |
HOST VO Once inside the body, a maggot feeds on the surrounding tissue and begins to grow, but in order to continue growing and find more nourishment, the maggot must burrow further and further into the flesh. And as the maggot feeds, the body’s immune system responds, creating massive inflammation, which can result in swelling and intense pain. DAN RISKIN VO As the maggot moves its way through the flesh trying to get out, it destroys tissue as it goes, and that can… |
DAN RISKIN OC …mean serious trouble for the host. |
HOST VO If left unchecked, maggots will feed on any type of flesh. Invasive… |
HOST VO …maggots have been known to gore skin, destroy eyeballs and even feed on the brain. |
HOST VO But how did the maggot get inside Monique’s foot? |
| MUSIC SEGUE |
MONIQUE ELS VO They thought either it was in the sand and somehow it got under my skin or the fly… |
MONIQUE ELS OC …just landed on my foot and laid an egg on my foot. |
| MUSIC SEGUE |
HOST VO There are many types of cutaneous myiasis, depending on the species of… |
HOST VO …fly. The only way for the doctors to know exactly… |
HOST VO …which type of fly… |
HOST VO …larvae it is would be to cut into Monique’s foot and extract the maggot. ANTOINETTE ELS VO/OC It was horrifying. I’m thinking my six-year-old daughter has a parasite that can do a lot of damage. HOST VO But extracting the parasite could lead to a serious infection in such a young patient. Instead of cutting into Monique’s foot to remove the larvae and risking infection, the doctors administer albendzole, |
HOST VO …a powerful anti-parasitic drug, that will kill the maggot. |
HOST VO Finally, |
HOST VO …after nearly one month of monitoring her condition, Monique’s doctor confirms that the larvae inside Monique is dead. |
| MUSIC SEGUE |
HOST VO Today, Monique is a healthy, happy 12-year-old. She has a purple… |
HOST VO …belt in karate and is fascinated by parasites. ANTOINETTE ELS VO/OC Monique is as healthy as can be. She’s doing really well. MONIQUE ELS VO/OC I think that this makes me kind of special because I’m on in millions of people who had, who had a worm inside them. |
MUSIC SEGUE HOST VO Maggots do not normally live inside human flesh, but when they do attack, the results can be deadly. To avoid becoming infected, |
HOST VO …travelers to subtropical regions and areas with large fly populations should wear shoes at all times and keep their skin covered. |
HOST VO But surprisingly, even flesh-eating maggots can have their uses. DAN RISKIN VO There are many different kinds of maggots in the world, and some of them are used for what’s… |
DAN RISKIN OC …called maggot therapy, |
DAN RISKIN OC …where maggots are placed directly on an open wound on the skin of a person, and as they feed on the decaying flesh, they clean the area and allow it to heal. |
HOST VO Most parasites do nothing but harm their hosts, but sometimes the side effects of a parasitic infection can work in the host’s favor. DAN RISKIN VO Parasites have been living off of humans for… |
DAN RISKIN OC …millions of years, and most of them do far more harm than good, but there are a few species that do provide some benefits working as double agents. |
HOST VO For more disgusting parasites and tips on how to avoid them, visit our website, animalplanet.com/monstersinsideme. |
| MUSIC OUT |
BROUGHTON COBURN OC/VO I can’t remember having had nosebleeds like this before, but I had just flown in a small plane from an elevation of about 12,000 feet down to 4,000 feet. So, I was curious if the sudden change in altitude may have had something to do with what was going on. |
BROUGHTON COBURN OC/VO He admits that he hasn’t had much experience with subtropical medicine, and I tell him that my nose has been bleeding off and on sporadically for about 20 minutes. And he takes a look inside and announces that he can’t see anything of significance and that perhaps I have weak nose membranes or perhaps the altitude, the change in altitude, affected me. I’m a little bit relieved that he hasn’t found anything, but on the other hand, identifying a problem can put one at ease even to a greater degree, and so, I’m curious about what it could be. |
HOST VO A few weeks later in the early morning hours, Jasper wakes up to a terrifying sensation. |
JASPER LAWRENCE VO/OC I’m very, very tight-chested. I’m really struggling for breaths. It was a very shocking moment. |
HOST VO Because of his known allergy to bee stings, Jasper searches his body for insect bites, but there are none. |
JASPER LAWRENCE VO/OC It’s disturbing, you know. I start to worry about what’s going on. |
HOST VO Jasper tries to get through the day, but in a few hours, he feels worse than ever. |
JASPER LAWRENCE VO/OC When you’re that short of breath and when you’re struggling for air, everything becomes enormously difficult. Your body just will not do what you want. Everything’s aching. You’re tired. Your limbs are heavy, and you’re struggling to do things that until that point you just took for granted. I realized that I needed expert medical help. |
HOST VO Jasper makes an appointment to see his doctor the next day. When he arrives, he tells him about the breathing difficulties. |
JASPER LAWRENCE VO/OC I immediately described to him the progression of my symptoms. My shortness of breath was getting worse and worse and worse. |
MARY SARGEANT VO/OC There was a program about the good effect of parasites and getting rid of diseases that were stubbornly difficult to treat. It occurred to me that this sort of idea might be just the thing, and it might really help Jasper to overcome his allergies. |
HOST VO During the seven-hour drive, Monique’s foot begins to bother her, but this time, it’s more than just itchy. |
MONIQUE ELS VO/OC All of a sudden, my foot started to hurt, and I had to put it on the top of the seat because the vibration of the car would hurt my foot. |
HOST VO Soon Monique’s dad, Henning, notices that something is wrong. |
HENNING ELS VO/OC Monique was in the back with her foot propped up, and I asked her why she does that, and she told me that her foot is bothering her again. A mosquito bite is not that severe, and I was starting to think that we should have a look at it when we get in Johannesburg. |
ANTOINETTE ELS VO/OC The doctor at that point dismisses it and says that he’s never heard about anything like that. They must have misdiagnosed, and he says it’s just a little wart. The doctor decides to put nitrogen on it to freeze it. |
MONIQUE ELS VO/OC After the freezing, my foot was hurting extremely, extremely bad. I couldn’t put my foot on the ground because it would just hurt too bad. |
ANTOINETTE ELS VO/OC The doctor doesn’t prescribe any medicine at that point. He thinks that this wart is taken care of. |
ANTOINETTE ELS VO/OC I’m worried because he froze something that might not be a wart. |
DAN RISKIN OC/VO Generally, most flies lay their eggs on dead animals, but sometimes a fly can mistake an open wound on the skin of a human for decaying flesh, and when that happens, the egg will hatch into a larva, which feeds on whatever meat is available. |
HOST VO A fly’s normal life cycle begins when an adult fly lays hundreds of eggs. Each egg becomes a maggot, which becomes a pupa. When the pupa hatches and becomes an adult fly, the life cycle is complete. |
ANTOINETTE ELS OC/VO We had to go to the doctor every single afternoon after school for at least three to four weeks so they can make sure that the worm is actually dead, and nothing more happens to Monique. I was really afraid that it might come back again. |
MONIQUE ELS VO/OC I was scared because it was living inside me. |
ANTOINETTE ELS VO/OC Every time Monique walks barefoot, I think of this parasite. I try to have them keep their shoes on, especially outdoors, and I also layer them with bug spray quite a bit. |
MONIQUE ELS VO/OC After the medicine, it did take quite a while for me to actually be able to walk and, to walk and play on my foot like I used to. I did wear shoes a lot more often. I did put on a lot of bug spray, especially onto the bottom of my feet. |