Once larvae have broken through the skin,
they enter the bloodstream and are carried to the lungs (however, unlike ascarids, hookworms do not usually cause pneumonia). The larvae migrate from
the lungs up the windpipe to be swallowed and carried back down to the
intestine. If humans come into contact with larvae of the dog hookworm or the
cat hookworm, or of certain other hookworms that do not infect humans, the
larvae may penetrate the skin. Sometimes, the larvae are unable to complete their
migratory cycle in humans. Instead, the larvae migrate just below the skin
producing snake-like markings. This is referred to as a creeping eruption or
cutaneous larva migrans. Diagnosis
They commonly infect the skin, eyes, and viscera in humans. Ancylostoma brasiliensis causes cutaneous larva migrans. Toxocara causes visceral larva migrans. Prevention
Control of this parasite should be directed against reducing the level of
environmental contamination. Treatment of heavily infected individuals is one
way to reduce the source of contamination (one study has estimated that 60% of
the total worm burden resides in less than 10% of the population). Other
obvious methods are to improve access to sanitation, e.g. toilets, but also
convincing people to maintaining them in a clean, functional state, thereby making
them conducive to use. Treatment
The drug of choice for the treatment of hookworm disease is mebendazole which is effective against both species, and in addition, will remove the intestinal worm Ascaris also, if present. The drug is very efficient, requiring only a single dose and is inexpensive.
He found thousands of adult ancylostomes in the small bowel of a 20-year old soldier who was suffering from severe diarrhoea and anaemia (labelled at the time as Egyptian chlorosis). The subject was revisited in Europe when there was an outbreak of "miners anaemia" in Italy. During the construction of the Gotthard Tunnel in Switzerland (1871–81), a large number of miners suffered from severe anaemia of unknown cause. Medical investigations let to the understanding that it was caused by Ancylostoma duodenale (favoured by high temperatures and humidity) and to "major advances in parasitology, by way of research into the aetiology, epidemiology and treatment of ancylostomiasis".Hookworms still account for high proportion of debilitating disease in the tropics and 50–60,000 deaths per year can be attributed to this disease. References


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