Scabies Mite

Scabies is a skin condition caused by a mite called Sarcoptes scabiei. The female mites tunnel into the skin and lay eggs. The eggs hatch into mites after a few days. Most of the symptoms are due to a skin reaction to the mites. It's not uncommon for people to believe that they are covered in scabies. This is not usually the case. There are usually just a few mites, but the allergic reaction to the mites, can cause them to 'itch all over'.

Image: Sarcoptes scabiei. Scabies mites burrowing into the skin. Credit: Hakeem

Scabies causes your skin to feel intensely itchy. The symptoms tend to be worse at night, and after a hot shower, or bath. The scabies mites will also leave small red blotches and lines on your skin, which are the marks caused by them burrowing into your skin.

Image: Sarcoptes scabiei. Credit: Serazin

Giardia

Giardiasis is a type of gastro-enteritis, or inflammation of the intestines, caused by an infection with the parasite Giardia lamblia.

Giardia is a type of single-celled organism called a protozoon. It first came to light in the UK as a cause of diarrhoea among those returning from abroad. It's a major cause of childhood diarrhoea in developing countries and is also common in Eastern Europe and across the US. However, giardia can be found around the globe and is the most common gut parasite in the UK.

Image: Giardia lamblia, dorsal view. SEM Scanning electron microscope ventral view of Giardia lamblia, a flagellate intestinal parasite. Credit CDC/ Janice Carr

Most people develop a variety of gastrointestinal symptoms, particularly watery diarrhoea, gas or flatulence, indigestion, nausea and severe stomach cramps. These symptoms can persist for several weeks and, without treatment, can lead to dehydration and weight loss.

Image: Giardia lamblia, ventral view, col - blue Colour-enhanced, scanning electron micrograph ofthe ventral view of Giardia lamblia. Credit: David Gregory&Debbie Marshall, Wellcome Images

Hookworm

The hookworm is a parasitic nematode worm that lives in the small intestine of its host, which may be a mammal such as a dog, cat, or human. Hookworms can lead to Ankylostomiasis, when hookworms present in large numbers produce an iron deficiency by voraciously sucking blood from the host's intestinal walls.

This micrograph reveals the head of the hookworm. The hookworm uses these sharp cutting teeth to grasp firmly to the intestinal wall, and while remaining fastened in place, ingests the host's blood. Hookworm disease is one of the most common parasitic roundworm infections of the intestines.

The World Health Organization estimates hookworm disease affects 740 million people worldwide.

Image: Necator americanus. This micrograph reveals the head of the hookworm and its mouth cutting plates. Credit: CDC/ Dr. Mae Melvin

Fleas

Flea is the common name for insects of the order Siphonaptera, which are wingless insects whose mouthparts are adapted for piercing skin and sucking blood. Fleas were responsible for carrying the bacterium Yersinia pestis that caused the 'black death' plague in 1347 A.D. While fleas can still transmit disease, in Western countries, it is very rare.

Flea legs are well adapted for jumping (vertically up to seven inches (18 cm); horizontally thirteen inches (33 cm) - around 200 times their own body length.

Image: Scanning Electron Micrograph of the head of a Flea, colour enhanced. Credit: Science Photo Library

Image: Scanning Electron Micrograph of a Flea. Credit: CDC/ Janice Haney Carr

Wellcome images are used under the Creative Commons license of Wellcome Images. CDC images are in the public domain and free from copyright, as a courtesy we have given full credit to the photographers.

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