Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Overview of Hookworm Infection in Humans

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Neglected Tropical Diseases - South Asia

Part of the book series: Neglected Tropical Diseases ((NTD))

Abstract

Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are a group of 13 diseases, which usually infect the poorest people around the world. Among them, the six most prevalent are caused by helminths: ascariasis, trichuriasis, ancylostomiasis, schistosomiasis, lymphatic filariasis, and oncocercosis [1].

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Hotez PJ, Molyneux DH, Fenwick A, Kumaresan J, Sachs SE, Sachs JD, Savioli L. Control of neglected tropical diseases. N Engl J Med. 2007;357:1018–27.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Hotez PJ, Brindley PJ, Bethony JM, King CH, Pearce EJ, Jacobson J. Helminth infections: the great neglected tropical diseases. J Clin Invest. 2008;118:1311–21.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  3. Hotez P. Hookworm and poverty. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2008;1136:38–44.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. WHO (2016) What are intestinal worms (soil transmitted helminthiasis)? Available from: http://www.who.int/intestinal_worms/disease/en/. Accessed 15 Nov 2016.

  5. Kvalsvig JD, Cooppan RM, Connolly KJ. The effects of parasite infections on cognitive processes in children. Ann Trop Med Parasitol. 1991;85:551–68.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Ngui R, Aziz S, Chua KH, Aidil RM, Lee SC, Tan TK, Sani MM, Arine AF, Rohela M, Lim YA. Patterns and risk factors of soil-transmitted helminthiasis among Orang Asli subgroups in peninsular Malaysia. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2015;93:361–70.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  7. Carroll SM, Grove DI. Resistance of dogs to reinfection with Ancylostoma ceylanicum following anthelmintic therapy. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 1985;79:519–23.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Inpankaew T, Schär F, Dalsgaard A, Khieu V, Chimnoi W, Chhoun C, Sok D, Marti H, Muth S, Odermatt P, Traub RJ. High prevalence of Ancylostoma ceylanicum hookworm infections in humans, Cambodia, 2012. Emerg Infect Dis. 2014;20:976–82.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  9. Bungiro R, Cappello M. Hookworm infection: new developments and prospects for control. Curr Opin Infect Dis. 2004;17:421–6.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Loukas A, Constant SL, Bethony JM. Immunobiology of hookworm infection. FEMS Immunol Med Microbiol. 2005b;43:115–24.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Brooker S, Bethony J, Hotez PJ. Human hookworm infection in the 21st century. Adv Parasitol. 2004;58:197–288.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  12. Hawdon JM, Hotez PJ. Hookworm: developmental biology of the infectious process. Curr Opin Genet Dev. 1996;6:618–23.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Neves DP. Human parasitology. 11th ed. Chapter 30. São Paulo: Atheneu; 2004.

    Google Scholar 

  14. Souadkia N, Brown A, Leach L, Pritchard DI. Hookworm (Necator americanus) larval enzymes disrupt human vascular endothelium. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2010;83:549–58.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  15. Brooker S, Hotez PJ, Bundy DA. Hookworm-related anaemia among pregnant women: a systematic review. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2008;2:e291.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  16. Hotez PJ, Zhan B, Bethony JM, Loukas A, Williamson A, Goud GN, Hawdon JM, Dobardzic A, Dobardzic R, Ghosh K, Bottazzi ME, Mendez S, Zook B, Wang Y, Liu S, Essiet-Gibson I, Chung-Debose S, Xiao S, Knox D, Meagher M, Inan M, Correa-Oliveira R, Vilk P, Shepherd HR, Brandt W, Russell PK. Progress in the development of a recombinant vaccine for human hookworm disease: the Human Hookworm Vaccine Initiative. Int J Parasitol. 2003;33:1245–58.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Guedez L, Mansoor A, Birkedal-Hansen B, Lim MS, Fukushima P, Venzon D, Stetler-Stevenson WG, Stetler-Stevenson M. Tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases 1 regulation of interleukin-10 in B-cell differentiation and lymphomagenesis. Blood. 2001;97:1796–802.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Zhan B, Badamchian M, Meihua B, Ashcom J, Feng J, Hawdon J, Shuhua X, Hotez PJ. Molecular cloning and purification of Ac-TMP, a developmentally regulated putative tissue inhibitor of metalloprotease released in relative abundance by adult Ancylostoma hookworms. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2002;66:238–44.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Tang YT, Gao X, Rosa BA, Abubucker S, Hallsworth-Pepin K, Martin J, Tyagi R, Heizer E, Zhang X, Bhonagiri-Palsikar V, Minx P, Warren WC, Wang Q, Zhan B, Hotez PJ, Sternberg PW, Dougall A, Gaze ST, Mulvenna J, Sotillo J, Ranganathan S, Rabelo EM, Wilson RK, Felgner PL, Bethony J, Hawdon JM, Gasser RB, Loukas A, Mitreva M. Genome of the human hookworm Necator americanus. Nat Genet. 2014;46:261–9.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  20. Quinnell RJ, Bethony J, Pritchard DI. The immunoepidemiology of human hookworm infection. Parasite Immunol. 2004;26:443–54.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Bartsch SM, Hotez PJ, Asti L, Zapf KM, Bottazzi ME, Diemert DJ, Lee BY. The global economic and health burden of human hookworm infection. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2016;10:e0004922.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  22. Fort MM, Cheung J, Yen D, Li J, Zurawski SM, Lo S, Menon S, Clifford T, Hunte B, Lesley R, Muchamuel T, Hurst SD, Zurawski G, Leach MW, Gorman DM, Rennick DM. IL-25 induces IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13 and Th2-associated pathologies in vivo. Immunity. 2001;15:985–95.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Quinnell RJ. Genetics of susceptibility to human helminth infection. Int J Parasitol. 2003;33:1219–31.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Urban JF, Noben-Trauth N, Schopf L, Madden KB, Finkelman FD. Cutting edge: IL-4 receptor expression by non-bone marrow-derived cells is required to expel gastrointestinal nematode parasites. J Immunol. 2001;167:6078–81.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Du L, Wei H, Li L, Shan H, Yu Y, Wang Y, Zhang G. Regulation of recombinant Trichinella spiralis 53-kDa protein (rTsP53) on alternatively activated macrophages via STAT6 but not IL-4Rα in vitro. Cell Immunol. 2014;288:1–7.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Cheever AW, Williams ME, Wynn TA, Finkelman FD, Seder RA, Cox TM, Hieny S, Caspar P, Sher A. Anti-IL-4 treatment of Schistosoma mansoni-infected mice inhibits development of T cells and non-B, non-T cells expressing Th2 cytokines while decreasing egg-induced hepatic fibrosis. J Immunol. 1994;153:753–9.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. de Silva NR, Brooker S, Hotez PJ, Montresor A, Engels D, Savioli L. Soil-transmitted helminth infections: updating the global picture. Trends Parasitol. 2003;19:547–51.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. Benjamin-Chung J, Nazneen A, Halder AK, Haque R, Siddique A, Uddin MS, Koporc K, Arnold BF, Hubbard AE, Unicomb L, Luby SP, Addiss DG, Colford JM. The interaction of deworming, improved sanitation, and household flooring with soil-transmitted helminth infection in rural Bangladesh. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2015;9:e0004256.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  29. Bath JL, Eneh PN, Bakken AJ, Knox ME, Schiedt MD, Campbell JM. The impact of perception and knowledge on the treatment and prevention of intestinal worms in the Manikganj district of Bangladesh. Yale J Biol Med. 2010;83:171–84.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  30. Jalihal U, Avinash B, Satyaprakash BS. Hookworm infestation in south India—are we moving away from microscope? Indian J Gastroenterol. 2013;32:62–3.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. George S, Levecke B, Kattula D, Velusamy V, Roy S, Geldhof P, Sarkar R, Kang G. Molecular identification of hookworm isolates in humans, dogs and soil in a tribal area in Tamil Nadu, India. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2016;10:e0004891.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  32. Mukhopadhyay C, Wilson G, Chawla K, Vs B, Shivananda PG. A 6 year geohelminth infection profile of children at high altitude in Western Nepal. BMC Public Health. 2008;8:98.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  33. Khanal P, Walgate R. Nepal deworming programme ready to go worldwide. Bull World Health Organ. 2002;80:423–4.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  34. Gabrielli AF, Ramsan M, Naumann C, Tsogzolmaa D, Bojang B, Khoshal MH, Connolly M, Stothard JR, Montresor A, Savioli L. Soil-transmitted helminths and haemoglobin status among Afghan children in World Food Programme assisted schools. J Helminthol. 2005;79(4):381.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  35. Ensink JH, van der Hoek W, Mukhtar M, Tahir Z, Amerasinghe FP. High risk of hookworm infection among wastewater farmers in Pakistan. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 2005;99:809–18.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  36. Gunawardena K, Kumarendran B, Ebenezer R, Gunasingha MS, Pathmeswaran A, de Silva N. Soil-transmitted helminth infections among plantation sector schoolchildren in Sri Lanka: prevalence after ten years of preventive chemotherapy. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2011;5:e1341.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  37. Fernando SD, Paranavitane SR, Rajakaruna J, Weerasinghe S, Silva D, Wickremasinghe AR. The health and nutritional status of school children in two rural communities in Sri Lanka. Tropical Med Int Health. 2000;5:450–2.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  38. Gunawardena GS, Karunaweera ND, Ismail MM. Effects of climatic, socio-economic and behavioural factors on the transmission of hookworm (Necator americanus) on two low-country plantations in Sri Lanka. Ann Trop Med Parasitol. 2005;99:601–9.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  39. McSorley HJ, Loukas A. The immunology of human hookworm infections. Parasite Immunol. 2010;32:549–59.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  40. Chan MS. The global burden of intestinal nematode infections—fifty years on. Parasitol Today. 1997;13:438–43.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  41. Mabaso ML, Appleton CC, Hughes JC, Gouws E. The effect of soil type and climate on hookworm (Necator americanus) distribution in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Tropical Med Int Health. 2003;8:722–7.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  42. Anderson RM, May RM. Helminth infections of humans: mathematical models, population dynamics, and control. Adv Parasitol. 1985;24:1–101.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  43. Bethony J, Chen J, Lin S, Xiao S, Zhan B, Li S, Xue H, Xing F, Humphries D, Yan W, Chen G, Foster V, Hawdon JM, Hotez PJ. Emerging patterns of hookworm infection: influence of aging on the intensity of Necator infection in Hainan Province, People’s Republic of China. Clin Infect Dis. 2002;35:1336–44.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  44. Forrester JE, Scott ME, Bundy DA, Golden MH. Clustering of Ascaris lumbricoides and Trichuris trichiura infections within households. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 1988;82:282–8.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  45. Faulkner H, Turner J, Behnke J, Kamgno J, Rowlinson MC, Bradley JE, Boussinesq M. Associations between filarial and gastrointestinal nematodes. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 2005;99:301–12.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  46. Stoll NR. On endemic hookworm, where do we stand today? Exp Parasitol. 1962;12:241–52.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  47. Hotez PJ, Brooker S, Bethony JM, Bottazzi ME, Loukas A, Xiao S. Hookworm infection. N Engl J Med. 2004;351:799–807.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  48. Bethony J, Brooker S, Albonico M, Geiger SM, Loukas A, Diemert D, Hotez PJ. Soil-transmitted helminth infections: ascariasis, trichuriasis, and hookworm. Lancet. 2006;367:1521–32.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  49. Hotez PJ, Bethony J, Bottazzi ME, Brooker S, Buss P. Hookworm: “the great infection of mankind”. PLoS Med. 2005;2:e67.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  50. Irisarri-Gutiérrez MJ, Muñoz-Antolí C, Acosta L, Parker LA, Toledo R, Bornay-Llinares FJ, Esteban JG. Hookworm-like eggs in children’s faecal samples from a rural area of Rwanda. Afr Health Sci. 2016;16:83–8.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  51. Knopp S, Mgeni AF, Khamis IS, Steinmann P, Stothard JR, Rollinson D, Marti H, Utzinger J. Diagnosis of soil-transmitted helminths in the era of preventive chemotherapy: effect of multiple stool sampling and use of different diagnostic techniques. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2008;2:e331.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  52. Coulibaly JT, Ouattara M, Becker SL, Lo NC, Keiser J, N’Goran EK, Ianniello D, Rinaldi L, Cringoli G, Utzinger J. Comparison of sensitivity and faecal egg counts of Mini-FLOTAC using fixed stool samples and Kato-Katz technique for the diagnosis of Schistosoma mansoni and soil-transmitted helminths. Acta Trop. 2016;164:107–16.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  53. Knopp S, Salim N, Schindler T, Karagiannis Voules DA, Rothen J, Lweno O, Mohammed AS, Singo R, Benninghoff M, Nsojo AA, Genton B, Daubenberger C. Diagnostic accuracy of Kato-Katz, FLOTAC, Baermann, and PCR methods for the detection of light-intensity hookworm and Strongyloides stercoralis infections in Tanzania. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2014;90:535–45.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  54. Utzinger J, Rinaldi L, Lohourignon LK, Rohner F, Zimmermann MB, Tschannen AB, N'goran EK, Cringoli G. FLOTAC: a new sensitive technique for the diagnosis of hookworm infections in humans. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 2008;102:84–90.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  55. Keiser J, Utzinger J. Efficacy of current drugs against soil-transmitted helminth infections: systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA. 2008;299:1937–48.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  56. Utzinger J, Keiser J. Schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminthiasis: common drugs for treatment and control. Expert Opin Pharmacother. 2004;5:263–85.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  57. Rey L. One century of experience with the control of ancylostomiasis. Rev Soc Bras Med Trop. 2001;34:61–7.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  58. Bennett A, Guyatt H. Reducing intestinal nematode infection: efficacy of albendazole and mebendazole. Parasitol Today. 2000;16:71–4.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  59. Smith JL, Brooker S. Impact of hookworm infection and deworming on anaemia in non-pregnant populations: a systematic review. Tropical Med Int Health. 2010;15:776–95.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  60. Collaborators, G B o D S. Global, regional, and national incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability for 301 acute and chronic diseases and injuries in 188 countries, 1990–2013: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013. Lancet. 2015;386:743–800.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  61. Albonico M, Bickle Q, Ramsan M, Montresor A, Savioli L, Taylor M. Efficacy of mebendazole and levamisole alone or in combination against intestinal nematode infections after repeated targeted mebendazole treatment in Zanzibar. Bull World Health Organ. 2003;81:343–52.

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  62. Albonico M, Smith PG, Ercole E, Hall A, Chwaya HM, Alawi KS, Savioli L. Rate of reinfection with intestinal nematodes after treatment of children with mebendazole or albendazole in a highly endemic area. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 1995;89:538–41.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  63. Truscott JE, Turner HC, Anderson RM. What impact will the achievement of the current World Health Organisation targets for anthelmintic treatment coverage in children have on the intensity of soil transmitted helminth infections? Parasit Vectors. 2015;8:551.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  64. Bethony JM, Simon G, Diemert DJ, Parenti D, Desrosiers A, Schuck S, Fujiwara R, Santiago H, Hotez PJ. Randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial of the Na-ASP-2 hookworm vaccine in unexposed adults. Vaccine. 2008;26:2408–17.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  65. Diemert DJ, Bethony JM, Hotez PJ. Hookworm vaccines. Clin Infect Dis. 2008;46:282–8.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  66. Loukas A, Bethony JM, Mendez S, Fujiwara RT, Goud GN, Ranjit N, Zhan B, Jones K, Bottazzi ME, Hotez PJ. Vaccination with recombinant aspartic hemoglobinase reduces parasite load and blood loss after hookworm infection in dogs. PLoS Med. 2005a;2:e295.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cellular and Molecular Immunology Group, René Rachou Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Belo Horizonte, Brazil

    Teresiama Velikkakam, Jacqueline Araujo Fiuza & Soraya Torres Gaze

Authors
  1. Teresiama Velikkakam
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jacqueline Araujo Fiuza
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Soraya Torres Gaze
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Soraya Torres Gaze .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Medicine, Molecular Biology Unit, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India

    Sunit K. Singh

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Velikkakam, T., Fiuza, J.A., Gaze, S.T. (2017). Overview of Hookworm Infection in Humans. In: Singh, S. (eds) Neglected Tropical Diseases - South Asia. Neglected Tropical Diseases. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-68493-2_4

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation