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Abstract/Summary

The human species is now heavily infested with parasites,
particularly the intestinal fluke Fasciolopsis buskii, the sheep
liver fluke Fasciola hepatica, the pancreatic fluke of cattle Eu-
rytrema pancreatica, the human liver fluke Clonorchis sinensis
and the common roundworm, Ascaris. The increase in fluke
parasitism is due to the establishment of a new “biological res-
ervoir” in cattle, fowl and household pets. The increase in As-
caris parasitism is probably due to harboring of household pets.
At the same time, microcontamination of the human food
supply with derivatives of the petroleum industry has occurred;
these include solvents, antiseptics and numerous products used
directly in the food industry. In the presence of isopropyl alco-
hol, F. buskii can complete its entire life cycle in the human
body, not requiring a snail as an intermediate host, as it usually
does. Other solvents contributing to parasitism include benzene,
methanol, xylene, and toluene which now occur as residues in
our foods and pollute our body products such as toothpaste,
mouthwash, lotions and cosmetics. These solvents are also
contaminants of animal feed, and thus are responsible for es-
tablishing the new biological reservoir or source of infection of

Flukes

Different solvents accumulate preferentially in different or-
gans. Isopropyl alcohol accumulates in the liver, resulting in
completion of the life cycle of Fasciolopsis in the liver. This
establishes the malignant process, namely the production of the
mitotic stimulant, ortho-phospho-tyrosine. Ortho-phospho-
tyrosine and a variety of growth factors are produced in the
human host organs, possibly for the parasites' own use, inad-
vertently including the human tissue in its sphere of influence.
The presence of an adult fluke in the liver signals the produc-
tion of ortho-phospho-tyrosine in a distant organ. This organ