Parasites in human history and culture

Abstract

Parasitic infections are fairly called the neglected diseases because of their high morbidity and mortality, the availability of very few effective drugs for their treatment and practically no vaccine for their prevention. The present article shows historical and cultural aspects related to parasitic infections, both protozoan and helminthic, that affected individuals and communities in the world in the past. The British poet Lord Byron, four members of the Medici family, Pharaoh Tutankhamen and the Scottish physician David Livingstone, all died of malaria infection. A hypothesis states that Mozart, the Austrian musician, would have passed away due to trichinosis. The soprano Maria Callas and the supermodel Claudia Schiffer would have self-infected with Taenia saginata in in order to lose weight. Pediculosis affected the European royalty since evidences have been found of such ectoparasites in the remains of Ferdinand II of Aragon, king of Naples, who ruled in the XV century. The facts and personalities presented here could provide cultural elements to enrich the teaching activities in biomedical studies, in the search of the formation of more comprehensive professionals.