How Can We Fight Back?

Parasites are a truly deadly enemy. But if we can better understand how they invade our bodies and evade our immune systems, then we can begin to work out new ways to fight back. This is where scientific research comes in.

We want to develop tests to identify when someone is infected, medicines to kill the parasites and make people better, vaccines to boost our immune systems and protect us, and ways to stop people from getting infected in the first place.  All of these will be valuable weapons in the ongoing battle against the parasites.

...But Parasites Evolve

Like other living things, parasites have evolved to survive. The problem is they are still evolving and developing better ways of fighting our bodies’ defences. Some parasites are becoming resistant to our medicines.

When parasites multiply, there is a tiny chance that mutations will make them resistant to our medicines.  If these resistant parasites survive and spread, our current medicines will not work.  We must outwit this process of evolution if we want to destroy a parasite once and for all.

Learn more about resistance, including some key facts

Click on these images to learn more about each parasite