Submitted by Brock University in Niagara, Ontario
February 5th, 2014 – The news coming out of the World Health Organization (WHO) this week is bleak: cancer around the globe is growing “at an alarming pace.”
Brock Universtiy microbiologist Dr. Ana Sanchez
The bulk of this – 60 per cent – is occurring in low-income countries.
We all know the common contributors: smoking; unhealthy diet; a sedentary lifestyle; stress.
But… parasites?
“It’s been estimated that up to 20 per cent of all cancers are caused by infectious agents, including some parasites,” says Brock University medical microbiologist Dr. Ana Sanchez.
Bacterial and viral infections such as Hepatitis B and C, H. pilory and others have been identified as contributing factors in lymphoma, sarcoma, liver cancer, prostate cancer, bladder cancer and stomach cancer.
In the case of parasites, Opisthorchis viverrini and Clonorchis sinensis (liver flukes) are linked to an increased risk of developing cancer of the bile ducts, while infection with Schistosoma haematobium has been linked to bladder cancer.
“It is really important that health systems deal with parasites and infections, which results not only in the prevention of certain cancers but also healthier populations,” says Sanchez.
Dr. Sanchez is available to speak to:
* the connection between infections and cancer
* parasites and other infections that cause cancer
* measures that global health systems can take to prevent cancers that arise out of infections
* case study examples from Honduras
(Niagara At Large invites you to share your views on this post. A reminder that we only post comments by individuals who share their first and last name with them.)
Niagara At Large 
The main key to protecting people around the globe is pure, clean drinking water, the water in pools and ditches are a haven for these snails that harbor fluke that invade the body through the openings of the body, the people need clean drinking water, period.
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