Hookworm: “The Great Infection of Mankind”
Hotez PJ, Bethony J, Bottazzi ME, Brooker S, Buss P (2005) Hookworm: “The Great Infection of Mankind”. PLOS Medicine 2(3): e67. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.0020067

Hookworm: "The Great Infection of Mankind"

- Hookworm: “The Great Infection of Mankind”

Tulane University

Multicellular organisms that can be parasitic or free living, unable to multiply while within humans (in adult form).

Helminths

- Etiology	
- Global distribution
- Clinical features
- Epidemiology 
- Progression of Hookworm infection
- Global disease burden
- Hookworm control strategies
- Na-ASP-2 Hookworm Vaccine

Hookworm

Sources for Helminths

- Flatworms (platyhelminths)
- Roundworms (nematodes)

Groups of Helminths

Although multicellular parasitic worms known as helminths are typically large enough to be seen without a microscope and are therefore not technically classified as microorganisms, they are still a significant subject within the field of microbiology. Their inclusion is necessary because the diseases they cause often involve eggs and larvae that are microscopic in size.

Helminths in Microbiology

Dracunculus medinensis, commonly known as the guinea worm, is an example of a multicellular parasitic helminth. Infection usually occurs when an individual consumes drinking water that contains water fleas infected with guinea-worm larvae. As the adult worm gradually works its way out of the host's skin, it causes debilitating symptoms such as dizziness, vomiting, diarrhea, and painful ulcers on the legs and feet. Thanks to coordinated global sanitation efforts to improve drinking water, cases of guinea-worm disease have plummeted from an estimated $${}3.5$$ million in the mid-$${}1980$$s to only $${}126$$ reported cases in $${}2014$$.

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