And it's all in mostly plain language any high school graduate ought to understand. The increase in Ascaris parasitism is probably due to harboring of household pets. In the presence of isopropyl alcohol, Fasciolopsis buskii can complete its entire life cycle in the human body, not requiring a snail as an intermediate host, as it usually does. Other solvents contributing to parasitism include benzene, methanol, xylene, and toluene which now occur as residues in our foods and pollute our body products such as toothpaste, mouthwash, lotions and cosmetics. These solvents are also contaminants of animal feed, and thus are responsible for establishing the new biological reservoir or source of infection of flukes.
Different solvents accumulate preferentially in different organs.
Isopropyl alcohol accumulates in the liver, resulting in completion of the life cycle of Fasciolopsis in the liver. This establishes the malignant process. A variety of growth factors are produced in the human host organs, possibly for the parasites' own use, inadvertently including the human tissue in its sphere of influence. The presence of an adult fluke in the liver signals the production of such growth factors in a distant organ. This organ appears to be chosen on the basis of certain bacteria as well as specific carcinogens present there.