The high-risk groups identified by the World Health Organization are preschool and school-age children, women of childbearing age (including pregnant women in the 2nd and 3rd trimesters and lactating women) and adults in occupations where there is a high risk of heavy infections. Treating in this way is called preventive treatment (or “preventive chemotherapy”). In developing countries, groups at higher risk for soil-transmitted helminth infections (hookworm, Ascaris, and whipworm) are often treated without a prior stool examination. Iron supplements may be prescribed if you have anemia. The drugs are effective and appear to have few side effects. Hookworm infections are generally treated for 1-3 days with medication prescribed by your health care provider. The infection of others can be prevented by not defecating outdoors or using human feces as fertilizer, and by effective sewage disposal systems. Fecal contamination occurs when people defecate outdoors or use human feces as fertilizer. Avoid other skin-to-soil contact and avoid ingesting such soil. Health care providers can diagnose hookworm by taking a stool sample and using a microscope to look for the presence of hookworm eggs.ĭo not walk barefoot in areas where hookworm is common and where there may be fecal contamination of the soil. The physical and cognitive growth of children can be affected. A person with a heavy infection may experience abdominal pain, diarrhea, loss of appetite, weight loss, fatigue and anemia. A person with a light infection may have no symptoms. These symptoms occur when the larvae penetrate the skin.
Itching and a localized rash are often the first signs of infection. What are the signs and symptoms of hookworm? Children who play in contaminated soil may also be at risk. Soil is contaminated by an infected person defecating outside or when human feces (“night soil”) are used as fertilizer.
People living in areas with warm and moist climates and where sanitation and hygiene are poor are at risk for hookworm infection if they walk barefoot or in other ways allow their skin to have direct contact with contaminated soil. One kind of hookworm ( Ancylostoma duodenale)can also be transmitted through the ingestion of larvae. Hookworm infection is transmitted primarily by walking barefoot on contaminated soil. The larvae mature into a form that can penetrate the skin of humans. They can then mature and hatch, releasing larvae (immature worms). If an infected person defecates outside (near bushes, in a garden, or field) or if the feces from an infected person are used as fertilizer, eggs are deposited on soil. Hookworm eggs are passed in the feces of an infected person. The two main species of hookworm infecting humans are Ancylostoma duodenale and Necator americanus. The larvae and adult worms live in the small intestine can cause intestinal disease. Hookworm is an intestinal parasite of humans.