Helminthiasis

Excerpt

The word "helminths" comes from the Greek meaning worm. The parasites that infect humans can be classified as heirlooms or souvenirs. Parasites that are inherited from ancestors in Africa are called Heirlooms, and those that are acquired from the animals during contact through our evolution, migrations, and agricultural practices are called souvenirs. In developing countries, the most common infectious agents of humans are these helminthic infections. More than a quarter of the world's population, that means approximately 2 billion people are affected by the helminthic parasite, and it is one of the major burdens of developing countries, especially in children.

There are two major phyla of helminths known as nematodes and platyhelminths. Nematodes are also known as roundworms that include soil-transmitted helminths and the filarial worms that cause lymphatic filariasis (LF) and onchocerciasis.

Other phyla platyhelminths also called flatworms, which include flukes schistosomes and tapeworms such as the pork tapeworm that causes cysticercosis. Flukes are known as trematodes, and tapeworms are known as cestodes. Soil-transmitted helminthiasis is a roundworm (Ascaris lumbricoides), whipworm (Trichuris trichiura), and hookworm (Ancylostoma duodenale and Necator americanus).

The soil-transmitted helminths (STHs), enter into the human body from contaminated soil that contains eggs of A. lumbricoides and T. trichiura. Some helminth can penetrate the skin directly (hookworm larvae). The diseases by helminths are neglected tropical diseases because they usually have insidious effects on growth and development. Also, the study of these diseases receives less than 1% of the global research budget.