As part of the cultural season of the Environmental Research Center

 Assist. Prof. Dr. Salih A. Al-Bakri (lecturer in the Department of Environmental Technology-ERC) presented a lecture on Tuesday, 4/2/2020 at 12:00 entitled “Parasites in Iraqi Environment”. The lecturer stated that a parasite is an organism that lives on or in the host (another organism). The presence of the host plays an essential role in enabling the parasite to live, grow and reproduce where it is generally smaller than the host. Parasite uses the host's resources to complete its life cycle and maintain itself. The size of parasite ranges from the microscopic size (about 70% of parasites are not visible to the human eye such as malarial type) to the macroscopic size (some worm parasites can reach over 30m in length). Parasites are not the same as predators and have the ability to reproduce at fast rates.

 The lecturer pointed out that parasites are present in diverse forms in the Iraqi environment and have the ability to reproduce at fast rates. Thus, they pose a real threat to human health if they are not diagnosed early. The environmental pollution plays a key factor in their spread such as drinking contaminated water and eating unclean or not well (partially) cooked food. Therefore, the lecturer recommended the necessity of health and environmental awareness in this respect in order to avoid their dangers.