A Virus inside a Parasitic Cell inside a Sandfly

[BillT]

A short story about a complex situation:

https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn28020-russian-doll-disease-is-a-virus-inside-a-parasite-inside-a-fly/

[LizStreithorst]

I've read about Leishmaniasis in one of my books.  Can't remember which one or which author.  Perhaps the guy who wrote the book about Ebola years ago.  I've had Cryptosopridia in my fish.  It's one bad parasite.  I had to destroy an entire fish room full of Discus, sterilize all my tanks and equipment and start anew.  It was a hard time, but I had no choice.  I had no idea that these bad parasites could be infected by a parasite that makes them even harder to treat.

[PaulineMi]

That photo is awesome.

[BillT]

I have a fun book "Parasite Rex" which describes a lot of weird parasites.

One I like is a parasitic amphipod (like a pill bug) that gets into a fish's mouth eats it tongue and then assumes it function in swallowing. It then lives off food it gets when the fish eats.

[LizStreithorst]

Parasites are cool.  A good immune system can keep most of them in check.  They live and their host lives although with less vigor.  Both manage to survive.  A parasite that kills off it's host is a stupid parasite unless it has an unlimited supply of hosts to infect.  Cryptobia was the one that made me destroy all my fish.  The one called Cryptosporidium is the one that infects warm blooded animals.  My baby goats got it from some Holstein heifers I bought.  It was hell until I learned that when the kids were born I could give them Equstim IV as soon as they were born.  Resistance was passed on through clostrum the next kidding season.   It's amazing that I never got it because I was working with those poor sick kids all the time.  Some folks contracted it from a "sick calf stall" at the vet's where I had my shop.

Cryptobia is a different matter.  there is no curing it and resistance is not passed down.  I wouldn't even wish that parasite on my nemesis.