If A Worm Makes You Sick, Can This Cup Of Tea Cure You?

Schistosomiasis is listed as a "neglected" tropical disease by the World Health Organization — one of those diseases that's been overlooked by modern medicine.

It mainly hits poor people in poor countries — and it hits a lot of them, up to 200 million a year. There are only a few drugs available to treat it. There are no designer drugs being cooked up in a lab in Europe for schistosomiasis. Doctoral students rarely pen their thesis on this disease.

But schistosomiasis can also be "neglected" by the very people it attacks. It can be a stealth disease. The infection starts slowly. A flatworm penetrates the skin of someone walking or working or swimming in contaminated water. The person doesn't feel sick. They pick up more parasites.

The host still feels fine, doesn't even know he or she is infected. The worms start having sex. They multiply. As the parasite population grows the person starts to feel sluggish, slightly off. The worm invasion may cause a fever or some abdominal pain but most people don't realize something's wrong. In parts of Africa and South East Asia where schistosomiasis is rampant, people can be infected for years before they start feeling sick.