Humans are hosts to nearly 300 species of parasitic worms and over 70

species of protozoa, some derived from our primate ancestors and some
acquired from the animals we have domesticated or come in contact with
during our relatively short history on Earth.

There are several reasons why parasitology is important in today’s

context? First, parasite gives impact on public health, second parasites
consistently resist on drugs, third parasite causes economic loss, and
forth limited research on parasitology

First, parasitology gives huge impact on public health problems:

The infections of human caused by these parasites have become one of
the major human health problems throughout the world. More than
three billion people worldwide are infected with one or more parasites
with varying morbidity and mortality. For example, it was estimated that
1,3 billion people are infected with hookworms, 1.4 million with
roundworm, and 1 billion with whipworm.

Second:
Just like bacteria, parasites usually develops ingenious and innovative
mechanisms to achieve drug resistance, which requires more research
and investment to fight it. So understanding their genes, proteins, life
cycle and evolution through research is also important in controlling
infections and predicting future outbreaks.

Third:
As we know, parasitic diseases are not confined to humans but also affect
many domestic and wild animals causing an enormous economical blight
to already poor countries and societies. Fragmentary data indicate that
zoonotic parasites cause human illnesses with medical costs and
productivity and disability losses totalling billions of dollars annually.

Forth, there are still limited researchs on parasitology to solve the

complex promblems mentioned before
Parasitology teaching and research are in a state of flux. This is reflected
in the continued downward trend in the number of parasitology
graduates and in the changing focus of the research programs, driven by
limited governmental and charity funds, in industry, academic, and
federal labs that used to have strong interests in solving parasitological
problems. These difficulties make enormous scientific challenges for
those trained and qualified in this discipline.

That’s why parasitology is still important in today’s context because of

the public health impact, drug resistance, economic loss, and limited
research.