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Chapter Twelve

Joseph sat at his personal computer in his apartment trying to find experts on parasites but so far he had been unable to find a local parasitologist. Most doctors seemed to know a thing or two about them but none specialized in them. The World Health Organization had a list of top ten experts in the field but none were local and a couple were busy conducting research. He doubted he could get them to drop what they were doing to come to his city on a possible chance there is a parasite infestation. Maybe if he had better proof but he would probably need an expert to help him gather proof to give to an expert to come and fix the problem.

He heard a crash from his bedroom and Marms ran out of there like his tail was on fire.

"Cat!" Joseph yelled, which was what he usually yelled when Marms was misbehaving. Joseph went into his bedroom and found that Marms had been walking on his bureau and knocked down a picture frame. The noise must have scared him so that is why he ran out. He picked up the frame and Marms had returned and began to rub himself against his leg.

"You think that will buy you my forgiveness?" he smiled because he knew it worked and in a few seconds he forgot how mad he was. All he would need to do was look into Marms eyes and he would instantly be forgiven. He was amazed at how much he loved this little ball of fluff.

He looked at the picture and realized he had forgotten about it. It was a picture of an old friend he once knew. He had a neighbor that moved into the building and despite their rocky beginning they had become friends. He had moved out long ago and Joseph had not thought about him in years.

His name was Ned and he had a thick Irish accent but his favorite pastime seemed to be insulting Joseph. Oddly enough he did it in such a clever way that Joseph did not realize he was being insulted until later on. Ned worked for the post office and used to tell stories about the deliveries he had to make. The stuff he came out with made him glad he was not a postal worker.

When they first met /ned walked up to him and called him an idiot because of something that Joseph could not remember. That immediately got under his skin and Joseph got into an argument with him that nearly turned into a fist fight.

That night Ned had knocked at his door and invited himself inside to drink one of Joseph's beers. Joseph was speechless and once he realized what happened it was too late to throw Ned out. Once Joseph snapped out of being stupefied by the fact that he showed up to his apartment they spent the night continuing their insults towards each other but in a more friendly manner. It happened again the next night and the next but by then they had become friends and found better reasons to hang out other than insulting each other. Ned just seemed to have a way of growing on you.

The real shock came when Ned told him that he was moving back home. His elderly parents were ill and he was moving back to take care of them. This unfortunately meant he was leaving the city so he'd never see him again. Ned had promised to call but that fell through and Ned had become someone that Joseph used to know.

Joseph put the picture back and reached down to pick up Marms.

"Maybe I should have named you Ned?"

"No I'm a baby, don't be mean to your baby or you're gonna cry." he said in Marms' made up voice.

"Are you my baby? Are you a baby?" Joseph said and Marms opened his mouth as if responding but not a sound came out. Joseph kissed him on his forehead before putting him down and went back to his computer.

He went back to his search and on an internet chat board about parasites a Dr. Rick Ami was giving a lecture at a local college that he also taught at. During the breaks he helped out with the W.H.O. stationed in Africa dealing with parasites. His lecture was on his expertise and dealing with parasites as well as an introduction to his classes.

Joseph made note of the date and time so he could attend the lecture and follow up by asking if he could consult for the department to verify if the hypothesis was true. If he were lucky then this doctor might know what the parasite is and how to cure it. With an expert like him on their side he could convince the city council to take action to end the parasites.

As Joseph searched Marms jumped up on the desk and sat next to the monitor watching Joseph. He turned and looked at the kitty and Marms opened his mouth again but made no sound.

"What?" Joseph asked and Marms this time made a small squeak.

"It's not time to eat.... It's too early!" Joseph said and Marms rubbed his face against the monitor purring. Joseph had learned how Marms talks to him so he knew Marms wanted food even though he was fed two hours ago. For a little tiny kitty he was a glutton.

Joseph could feel his resolve slipping and decided to compromise. He went into the kitchen with Marms running in front of him to lead the way. He instead gave him some kitty treats to hold him over until later tonight when it was actually Marms meal time.

"Are you at risk for Mad Cow Disease? With more cases popping up daily, find out tonight at six." A commercial for the news played and Joseph wanted to roll his eyes as he listened to it. They were still spreading that fake rumor and misinforming the public. He still wondered how they had come up with that story and why no one had corrected them yet.

Later on in the day he called George to see if they could get the paperwork in place to allow Dr. Ami to be brought in as a consultant for his case. George gave him a bit of a hard time at first but soon found a way to get the request approved. George even gave him permission to attend the lecture which Joseph was hoping for because he was not sure since it occurred during his work hours. George also gave him hell for working on his day off.

He spent the rest of the day catching up on his tasks he usually did on his day off. Doing laundry, cleaning up his apartment, extra playing with Marms, and food shopping. He was glad he had no doctors appointments today that might get in his way.

Marms was busy enjoying his own tasks of yelling at the birds through the window and watching what the people across the street were doing. Marms treated his window as if it were his own personal kitty television.

Joseph walked into the classroom at a college that was two cities over from where he lived. He had left earlier than he needed to because he wanted to be sure to arrive on time and since he was not too sure of the area, he felt it better to err on the side of caution.

The room was relatively filled with college students chatting among themselves of their majors and various other topics. He felt so out of place that if he knew someone else like him was here, he might not feel so alone. A couple of the students would ask him what his major was but once he told them he was not a student the turned away to find other students to chat with.

The name Dr. Rick Ami was written on a dry erase board. Although this was a classroom it looked and felt more like looking at a theatre and he felt like he was part of the audience getting ready to watch a play.

Just before the set time of the lecture a middle aged male, his head was shaved bald, walked to the podium and set down some books nearby. His skin was a darker shade of hue than most African Americans Joseph was used to being around. Remembering that his profile had said he worked in Africa on relief efforts so he guessed it made sense he would not be the same shade as regular Ameicans.

"Hello, hello can I have your attention, please." He said and Joseph heard his accent and felt at ease. The way he spoke had a very soothing quality almost as if he were singing. Joseph found he was enchanted by his voice.

"Thank you for coming to my lecture on the brief introduction of parasites in our daily lives. I am Doctor Rick Ami and I know what you are thinking, you don't look like a "Rick." Well I tend to find most people have trouble in America with my first name so I insist you call me Rick. It just makes things easier.

"I work for the World Health Organization, or WHO and have been there for ten years. I assist in trying to control, and maybe one day, eliminate harmful parasites and protozoans. This is simply an introductory lecture so I'll try to spare all of you lay people and will not try to not bog you down with all the scientific names. Believe me even in my line of work the names can be immersive.

"Now how many here have ever had a parasite?" A few hands rose. "And how many currently have parasites?" A few hands lowered and only a couple remained. Dr. Rick thanked them and all the hands were lowered.

"Would it surprise you to learn that seventy percent of all Americans are currently infected with parasites and have no idea that they are there in them? But let's start off with our definition of a parasite. A parasite is anything that lives off the body of another or the host as we call it. This can fall into different categories but first we need to differentiate from good parasites and bad parasites. Not all parasites are bad or harmful to the host. The example I give is of the rhino in Africa. Has everyone heard that a little bird lives on the rhino and feeds off of it eating the bugs that infest, or try to, the skin of the rhino? The bird is called the Oxpecker or tickbird as it is sometimes called. We would classify the bird as a parasite but not a bad one because although it lives off the rhino it helps the rhino in a way.

"Most people have this preconceived notion that all parasites are bugs, but that is only partially true. A parasite can be a virus or an animal or even an insect and fungus. A good example of viral parasites is Cancer or Aids. I plan to extensively go over the Aids virus during this talk. Fungal parasites are some that are made from yeast and have shown to be beneficial in digestion. Animal parasites are like our bird friend the tickbird, but not all are as beneficial as that one. Then the insect variety are worms, mosquitoes, lice, and such.

"There are three main types of bad parasites that live and eat in humans. Protozoa, Helminths, and Ectoparasites. I'll go over each one and I also apologize for the big words but it is essential in understanding them. First is protozoa and these are one celled organisms that live in the blood and tissues of people. The second is the helminths which are like ringworm or flat works and they live in the intestine and other fatty tissue areas. Last and this one usually gets the most laughs because of the name, is the ectoparasites and they are not related to ghosts or the paranormal or Ghostbusters. They are ticks and lice that try to invade the surface and dig or burrow their way inside.

"On a side note, I do teach a class here on Metabolic Parasites and the human condition but realize it is for advanced students especially those going into the medical field. If you are interested in taking the class let me warn you now that it is in no way as simple as this lecture seems. All those so called scary scientific names I'm hiding will not in any way be hidden. If you have trouble between a Hyostrongylus rubidus and a Aelurostrongylus spp, then that is not the class for you. I had a couple of freshmen that thought they could sneak by and use my class as a science credit. They learned that was not true the hard way!" Dr. Rick took a sip of water and a female student raised her hand and he called on her.

"Sir, how many parasites are there?" She asked.

"Unfortunately, that question is hard to answer. There may be hundreds, maybe thousands of thousands. You see as mankind continues to evolve so does the rest of the world.

Every year the flu virus, another parasite, evolves into new strains and the pharmaceutical companies need to make new treatments. That does not mean that we cannot fight parasites, far from it but as new strains adapt and evolve so must the medical field. There have been numerous posts on social media about new species of spiders that are found that have never been seen before. Well those discoveries are not limited to only them. Things grow and adapt and evolve all the time. There are even some insects that have never been seen or classified yet, so we can't say we know all there is to know. It would be nice if I could just say there are one million seven hundred eighty seven thousand four hundred ninety two parasites, but that would be a lie.

"But don't think for a second we are losing the proverbial war. Evolution is a slow process and we have many treatments available. But I merely want to warn you future doctors and nurses that we must remain ever vigilant and never simply rest on our laurels. A new strain of staphylococcus may appear and we need to be ready to combat it. The treatments we have may work today and tomorrow and maybe even ten years in the future, but they may not work forever.

"We all know the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, or HIV, is a terrifying disease with no known cure. We have numerous treatments to slow down the rate of infection but we cannot at this time cure it. Hiv is considered a parasite that would fall roughly under the protozoan class, depending on whom you speak to. This parasite invades the receptors that produce and store white blood cells, T cells they're called. And I'm sorry that I'm over simplifying this, but if you want the advanced stuff, then by all means sign up for one of my classes. Like a parasite, the virus invades the host cells and lives off and reproduces inside the receptors until the host dies and the new offspring go out to invade the other remaining healthy receptors. By eliminating these receptors the body becomes unable to naturally produce white blood cells. Over time simple viruses and illnesses like a cold or the flu can easily kill the person because they no longer have a means to fight these viruses.

"When the parasites grow and reproduce to a dangerous level the condition becomes called Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, or Aids. We might classify sickness in four levels: one infected, two incubating, three sick, and four illness. When the number of the viruses rises then so does the danger and that is how we move through the infected stages.

"Four levels make up the total sum of HIV and Aids. The first three categories roughly make up the level of Hiv in an individual when the final stage evolves into Aids. The trouble with the virus is that for some reason the body does not fight off the HIV virus.

"A hypothesis of mine is that there are certain parasites that can create a covering or somehow trick the immune system into not fighting the parasites. I tend to think the same applies to the HIV virus and the body has no idea they need to fight back against these parasites. This still falls in the hypothesis of the scientific method because I am still conducting the research, so we cannot state this as fact or a scientific theory at this time." Dr. Rick said and then took another sip of water.

The rest of the lecture followed the same format and while Joseph did find it informative his real reason for being there was to meet with Dr. Rick after the lecture. Joseph prepared himself as he approached Dr. Rick.

"Excuse me, Doctor Rick." Joseph said when he was finally able to speak to him. He patiently waited as the students went up to him asking numerous questions about the courses he was teaching.

"Yes" he replied and although he seemed tired his attitude changed as Joseph showed him his badge.

"Is there someplace private we can talk?"

"My office, this way." Dr. Rick gestured and the two left with a few students watching and murmuring to themselves about why a cap was talking to their teacher. His office looked nothing like what Joseph was expecting because he had thought it might look more like a library or science lab. Instead the room looked like a card catalog room with drawers and files on the walls, a few pictures of parasites that were dissected and scientific names explaining the parts. Behind his desk he had a large map of Africa that had push pins inserted into various places.

Even his desk looked like a drafting table rather than a wooden desk with drawers. He had a laptop open on it and his cell phone connected to a power cord sitting on the desk.

Dr. Rick leaned against the desk and watched Joseph as he inclined with his arms folded across his chest. Even though he had rehearsed in his mind what he was going to tell the doctor he was drawing a blank as the doctor watched him.

"How can I help you, inspector?" Dr. Rick said and Joseph felt the tension he was feeling lift now that the doctor had broken the silence.

"I would like to ask you to consult for my department on a case that I'm working on." Joseph replied

"Why would you need my help for this?" The doctor replied.

"Because, this case involves parasites!" The doctor raised one of his eyebrows and for a moment Joseph was reminded of how Mr. Spock on Star Trek acts.