All Creatures Great and Small

I know I have this thing about a role and a place in the world for all creatures of the God including bacteria, viruses and ants. I am kind of obsessed with this idea and I don't like the indiscriminate use of ""antiseptic" products for killing bacteria promoted by the industry. But today, I read something that did warm my heart. And it proves my theory that God or nature or whatever you believe in, has created all creatures for a purpose, even if we can't understand it.

 

BTW, the title "All Creatures Great and Small" is from a much loved James Herriot book, about a country vet and his animal patients.

A scientist from Nottingham, Mr Pritchard believes that hookworms can prevent asthma and allergies and links the recent rise in number of persons with asthma and allergy problems in the developed world to the use of clean water and mass de-worming treatments.

According to him, hookworms in the human intestine, they affect the body's immunity mechanisms and thus reduce the chances of having asthma and allergies. He has a research project in which they will give people a limited dose of hookworm larvae and measure their immunity and the effect of this treatment on the asthma episodes.

However, in the poor communities in developing countries, hookworms are also responsible for worsening of anaemia and malnutrition, so even if he proves his point, how are we actually going to apply this kind of treatment?

 

I think that if his hunch is correct and the hookworm does affect body's immune system and allergies, then next step would be to understand how do they have this impact, so that we can search for new treatments for allergies.

 

***

This idea of a purpose for all big and small creatures, also reminds me of a scene from a book called "She Was Called Two Hearts" about a woman going through Australian outdoors with a group of Aborigine people. In this scene she tells about feeling dirty because of not taking baths and constant travelling in the dust. And then they encounter a swarm of small insects that surrounds them. She panics but then sees that the Aborigine people are facing the flies calmly, letting them do what they wish. The flies enter her ears, flutter inside and clean it and then come out and fly away.

So next time you are ready to kill a cockroach or a mosquito, think first, what its role can it have in the nature? However, to be honest, mosquitoes may be useful somewhere, but while waiting for someone to discover for what, I prefer to use a repellent cream and may be even kill some of them, if I can.

***