I listened to this Medical Matters podcast today, about parasites which can invade our bodies.
Three of them feature heavily in the Medical History of British India project - malaria, leishmaniasis and schistosomiasis. Far from being diseases from remote jungles or only threatening to health 100 years ago, these can be caught on foreign holidays today.
Make sure that you don't bring home a dangerous souvenir by checking out travel advice from your local GP or from the NHS fit for travel site.
There is an article in the latest issue of Wellcome History magazine about the discovery of the cause of Oriental sore, or cutaneous leishmaniasis.
(Photo of leishmaniasis parasite from www.bbc.co.uk)
