Comment by graeme
4 years ago
Note that the most important of these are intestinal worms, helminths. The other would be bacteria.
Respiratory viruses, by contrast, are not on the list. It is instead chronic presences in the body which may modulate immune response and avoid allergies.
(You said nothing wrong but the name itself is confusing)
Do you mean that a certain amount of helminths is beneficial for our health? Is this just during childhood or is helminth infestation beneficial the whole life?
Maybe helminths shouldn't be called parasites then, since they somehow bring benefits to us? Like, there's some degree of mutualism
The whole thing is debated and I’m not sure we have a clear answer. As of yet public health authorities are not recommending helminths, and they cause a lot of problems too