MEDICAL INSIDER
DR. RIA PINLAC MASLOG
FOR SEPTEMBER 3
Hookworm Infection
There are two human species of hookworm and these are: the
Necator americanus and the Ancylostoma duodenale
The prevalence of hookworm infection is higher in the rural areas
where there is no proper sewage disposal.
Clinically, this infection may present as dermatitis with itchiness,
erythema and edema because of the skin penetration of the
infective larvae.
From the skin, the larvae will go to the venous circulation to the
lungs. In the lungs, the larvae will penetrate the alveoli and go
upward through the respiratory tree over the epiglottis into the
esophagus and then through the stomach to the duodenum.
The affected children will have anemia due to the sucking of the
blood from the intestinal mucosa by the adult worms and bleeding
from the small ulcerations at the site of attachments in the
duodenum.
The amount of blood loss is proportional to the worm burden
which could be 0.5 ml or more per worms. And because of
continuous blood loss this will lead to depression of the bone
marrow thus resulting to: severe infections, nutritional
disturbances and and marked anemia.
In hookworm infection, sanitation and proper disposal of human
wastes is necessary to prevent seeding of the environment with
hookworm ova. And children should always have footwear while
at play to avoid contact of the skin with an infected soil.