An argument for creationism: Volvulus

The Onchocerca volvulus nematode worm is a special creation of the God of the Bible. Like many species of parasitic nematode, it has two specifc organisms in which it develops, Blackflies and humans. It needs to alternate between these two hosts in order to mature.

The Blackfly, itself a parasite of humans, sucks the blood of an unsuspecting human. If the human is host to volvulus, the Blackfly ingests the first stage of the nematode (microfilariae) and becomes a vector for the parasite.

"[Adult volvulus] dwell in various human tissues where they can live for several years. ... The female worms produce microfilariae which circulate in the blood. ... The microfilariae infect [Blackflies] ... Inside the arthropod, the microfilariae develop in 1 to 2 weeks into infective filariform (third-stage) larvae." [1]

The Blackfly is like a miniature manufacturing plant. It produces exactly the right nutrients for the larval volvulus to develop from a stage 1 larva into a stage 3 larva, growing longer and more mature at each stage. Stage 1 larva migrate from the fly's proboscis to its midgut and thoracic muscles. The Blackfly's midgut is so highly acidic that it would not normally be able to support parasitic life, but volvulus has the ability to withstand this acidity. Once it reaches stage 3, the larvae migrate back to the head and proboscis, ready to be injected into an appropriate host. volvulus can not mature like this in any other organism. How does evolution (the impersonal plus time plus chance) explain the complicated ability of one Blackfly to provide so specifically for the species volvulus? And how does evolution explain the larva's ability to know to migrate from one area to another given that it can only get the nutrients it needs to mature in specific parts of the Blackfly? And how does evolution explain the larva's specific ability to withstand the acidic environment of the Blackfly's gut?

When the Blackfly decides it is time to eat more food, it bites its target, and draws up blood through its proboscis. Blackflies, unlike other Simulidae, prefer to feed on humans; humans who are the required second host of volvulus. When a Blackfly infected with stage 3 volvulus larvae bites a human in order to take a blood meal, volvulus larvae residing in the head and proboscis travel into the bite wound and begin the next stage of their lifecycle: adulthood. If the Blackfly does not bite a human, the volvulus larvae die. This is the perfect example of irreducible complexity: if the Blackfly doesn't feed on humans, the larvae die, if the larvae don't travel to the proboscis, they die. Dead nematodes do not evolve new abilities!

The volvulus larva now mature in a special manner. First, they travel from the human's blood to subcutaneous tissue where they form nodules in order for the females grow considerably larger. This process takes six months to a year. Where does this knowledge come from, and how does the nematode know to do it and when to use it? Producing nodules too soon or too late is fatal!


Once the worms have matured, they can reach up to half a meter in length and they travel to different regions of the host human over a period of up to fifteen years in order to mate and lay their young (microfilariae). They travel, once again, through the blood stream. Human blood is filled with immunological cells specialised to identify foreign bodies and counteract their growth and spread. But the volvulus worms are allowed free passage.. How does evolution explain the worms ability to know to travel to the eye? How does evolution explain the lack of immune response to the presence of the volvulus?

"[I think] of a parasitic worm that is boring through the eye of a boy sitting on the bank of a river in West Africa, [a worm] that's going to make him blind ... [God] is an all-merciful God, who cares for each one of us individually ... God created this worm that can live in no other way than in an innocent child's eyeball." [2]

As the adult volvulus travels the human's body, it releases millions of baby worms (microfilariae). These travel to the surface of the skin of the human during the day, when the Blackfly is known to feed. Those that don't get sucked up by a Blackfly soon die. When the microfilariae die, they release Wolbachia, a parasitic bacteria. When this happens, the death of thousands of tiny worms on the skins surface causes it to depigment; a condition known as leopard skin. When the microfilarie die near the eye, the vision of the human eye will degrade painfully into blindness, a process known as onchocerciasis. Onchocerciasis is the world's second leading cause of blindness. When the microfilarie die near the groin, the human experiences lymphadentisis and elephantisis of the genitals.

"Onchocerciasis is the world's second leading infectious cause of blindness. A total of 18 million people are affected worldwide." [3]

What infinite care our Creator-God has taken in the design of the volvulus! This little creature breaks the rules of the evolution model with its marvelous complexity. It needed God to create it just like it is with all its abilities and peculiarities. The volvulus nematode worm is a marvel of God's creation -- the God for whom nothing is impossible (see Luke 1:37), and who daily lives to make intercession for us (Romans 8:34) and who loves us so much that He willingly gave His life for us (John 3:16).

[1] Center of Disease Control (USA), article on Filariasis
[2] David Attenborough on God and parasitic nematodes
[3] World Health Organization on Onchocerciasis

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