"Some day we may need the lessons from these parasites to survive greater challenges or emerging pathogens," he says.
"I strongly feel that we don't have a 'right' as one species to wilfully oversee the extinction of another.
Are we creating conditions where host-switching might become more common? This has ramifications for our own health and that of endangered species."
In Hidden Creatures, Martins writes that one in three people serve as unwitting hosts to parasitic nematodes at any given time, including hookworms.
He suggests exposure to parasites can strengthen immunity despite modern obsessions with sterilization, warning that completely removing these creatures can have unknown consequences.
"Parasites do cause a lot of harm and suffering and there is no question that our attempts to control them through the ages have saved many lives and livelihoods.
However, some scientists are starting to think of parasites as just one part of our microbiome which has many roles to play in all aspects of our health," he says.
Martins argues that global shifts in diets, such as fish-farming and crowded livestock conditions, have created opportunities for parasites to spread, leading to antibiotic resistance.
Human interventions remain subject to natural selection, meaning toxic chemicals will not eliminate all bugs.
"Some will survive and increase due to natural resistance, while using chemicals indiscriminately will end up making the problem worse," he says.
This explains why efforts to eradicate common hookworms using preventive drugs like albendazole fail to stop reinfection from contaminated soil.
While no approved vaccines are available for hookworms in humans, several candidates are in clinical trials, notably one developed by the Sabin Vaccine Institute.
Martins argues that vaccines will still face evolutionary processes, sustaining a long-term arms race between humans and hookworms.
The 2015 Whitley gold award winner hopes Hidden Creatures will interest nature societies and students of conservation, biology, and medicine.
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"I try to present the natural history of the parasites as it is," he says. "Even the most disgusting have some of the most incredible adaptations and abilities."
