IS THERAPEUTIC HELMINTH INFECTION SAFE?
Complications related to therapeutic helminth infection have not arisen thus far. However, there is evidence that coinfection with other known pathogens such as Campylobacter jejuni may result in serious infection, including septicaemia.36 A recent case report indicates that this coinfection and its serious consequences may also occur in patients.37 Another potentially serious coinfection is S mansoni with Toxoplasma gondii, which leads to a significant increase in circulating tumour necrosis factor α, severe liver pathology, and death in a murine model.38 These reports indicate that patients being considered for helminth therapy may require screening for carriage of other potential pathogens prior to initiation of treatment. Other issues related to this that need to be addressed by future studies are the choice of organism and the type of infection. Both human and animal studies indicate that a heavy helminth burden is associated with a greater immunoregulatory environment, while a li
