I Always Wanted to Host a Parasite

Be forewarned, you may not want to read this while eating.

I was jealous of my friend Leah who called me several months after returning from Senegal and said, "You'll never believe what I found in the toilet today." She was horrified and disgusted to find that she had passed an intestinal worm. She gave herself a pep talk to be able to pluck it from the toilet so the doctor would be able to properly identify and treat her parasite(s). I was fascinated and told her the scientist in me had secretly always wanted to host a parasite.

Today I learned I am hosting a benign parasite (is that an oxymoron?), which I suppose is the best of both worlds, if you can still classify something that is not detrimental to me parasitic. I had some stool tests done this week (that's another story), and the doctor reported all of my samples showed evidence of the protozoa Entomoeba coli, which is not to be confused with the bacteria E. coli. Which means I must have consumed some contaminated water somewhere and am now host to this friendly parasite. They don't recommend treatment, so I guess I'm an indefinite host now....