Entomologist argues parasites are central to biodiversity
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- Dino J Martins, the Kenyan-raised entomologist and Stony Brook University research professor, published 'Hidden Creatures: Luscious Leeches, Bashful Botflies and the Wondrous, History-Shaping World of Parasites' this month, based on his encounters with parasites in East Africa, New York, Borneo and London.
- Martins argues parasites are central to the story of biodiversity and extinction, stating that 'no ecosystem or habitat exists without parasites' and that their presence signals healthy, complex biodiversity.
- Martins cites that one in three people serve as unwitting hosts to parasitic nematodes at any given time, including hookworms that 'have sex frequently and vigorously' in human intestines, and suggests some parasite exposure may actually strengthen immunity.
- Martins says human efforts to eradicate hookworms with preventive drugs like albendazole have been futile because the drugs do not prevent reinfection via contaminated soil, framing the conflict as 'a long-term arms race between humans and hookworms.'
- Martins warns that intensive fish-farming and crowded livestock operations are creating unnatural densities where parasites thrive, transporting parasite-laden effluents into water systems and contributing to antibiotic resistance.
- The Sabin Vaccine Institute has a promising hookworm vaccine candidate in clinical trials, though Martins notes any vaccine will still be subject to evolutionary escape by the parasites.
- Martins — a Harvard biology doctorate holder, 2015 Whitley gold award winner, and chair of Nature Kenya's insect committee — frames modern sterilization obsession as potentially harmful, saying completely removing parasites from our lives has consequences 'we are only just beginning to understand.'
Why it matters: With one in three people already hosting parasitic nematodes and hookworm eradication drugs repeatedly failing due to reinfection, Martins' framing reframes parasite control as an evolutionary arms race rather than a winnable war — a stance with direct implications for vaccine developers, public health officials, and the food-system regulators overseeing expanding aquaculture and livestock operations.
