Parasites should be viewed as a natural state, and we should recognize that even frequent treatments will not prevent them completely. Our goal is not to eliminate parasites, as history has shown us this is impossible and only leads to anthelmintic resistance. Instead, our goal should be to reduce parasite contamination levels in the environment and thereby keep parasite burdens under control.

It shouldn’t really surprise us: parasites are becoming increasingly resistant to the drugs we use. Bacteria are now increasingly resistant to antibiotics, malaria parasites are widely resistant to antimalarials, and parasites are no different. We should all learn the lesson from history.