aarogya.com
  • Home
  • Complementary Medicine
    • Ayurveda
    • Homeopathy
    • Naturopathy
    • Acupressure
    • Acupuncture
    • Aromatherapy
    • Batch Flower Remedies
    • Home Remedies
    • Massage
    • Yoga
    • Meditation
    • Reiki
    • Bodywork
    • Medical Palmistry
  • Conditions & Diseases
    • Acute Diarrheal Disease
    • Appendicitis
    • Blindness
    • Brucellosis
    • Chicken Pox
    • Conjunctivitis
    • Dysentery
    • Hookworm
    • Japanese Encephalitis
    • Lymphatic Filariasis
    • Plague
    • Rubella
    • Typhoid Fever
    • Yellow Fever
    • Allergy
    • Arthritis
    • Blood Pressure
    • Computer Health Hazards
    • Chikungunya Fever
    • Dengue
    • Guinea Worm
    • Influenza
    • Leprosy
    • Malaria
    • Poliomyelitis
    • Tetanus
    • Whooping Cough
    • Viral Hepatitis
    • Amebiasis
    • Asthma
    • Bronchitis
    • Diagnostic Tests
    • Cholera
    • Diphtheria
    • Hepatitis
    • Irritable Bowel Syndrome
    • Leptospirosis
    • Measles
    • Rabies
    • Tuberculosis
    • Yaws
  • Family Health
    • Children's Health
    • Diet & Nutrition
    • First Aid
    • Fitness
    • Humor & Trivia
    • Men's Health
    • Preventive Health
    • Senior's Health
    • Senior Citizen Corner
    • Teen’s Health
    • Vets and Pets
    • Women’s Health
  • Health Resources
    • Blood Donation
    • Career Opportunities
    • Daily Health Tips
    • Health Programs
    • Featured Hospitals
    • Medical Education
    • Health Professional's Negligence
    • Medical Tourism
    • Video Eye
    • Rural Health
    • Patients' Rights Forum
  • Insurance
    • Euthanasia
    • Health Insurance
    • Health Insurance Policies
    • Insurance Companies
    • Medical Ethics
    • Medical Jurisprudence
    • Research
    • Telemedicine
    • Compare Health Insurance
  • Sex & Sexuality
    • What is Sex & Sexuality?
    • FAQs
    • Marriage & Pregnancy
    • Sex Education
  • Support Groups
    • Addiction
    • Aids
    • Cancer
    • Epilepsy
    • Swine Flu
    • Blood Search
    • Vivah
    • Health Directory
    • Alzheimer's Disease
    • Medical Support Groups
    • Cardiology
    • Depression
    • Depression Screening Test
    • Diabetes
    • Disability
    • Kidney
    • Obesity
    • Pregnancy
    • Schizophrenia
    • Vitiligo
Aarogya.com
Marathi | Gujarati | Register | Login
  • Home
  • Conditions & Diseases
  • Hookworm
  • Causative Factors of Hookworm Infection

Causative Factors of Hookworm Infection

  • Print
Details
Hits: 24739
Agent Factors for Hookworm Infection
Agent
Adult worms live in the small intestine, mainly the jejunum where they attach themselves to the villi. Males, measure about eight to 10 mm, and females about 10 to 13 mm in length. The eggs are passed on in the feces in their thousands, one female A duodenale produces about 30,000 eggs and one female N americanus about 9,000 of them per day. High egg production ensures constant infection.

When deposited on warm, moist soil, a larva rapidly develops in the egg and hatches after one or two days. The newly hatched larva (rhabditiform larva) moulds twice in the soil and becomes a skin–penetrating third stage infective larva within five to 10 days. These lie and wait in the soil to pierce the skin of the human host. They move very little horizontally, but migrate upwards on blades of grass. They can survive in shaded, moist soil for up to one month. Infection occurs when the larva enters the body through the skin, most commonly through the feet. Larvae of A duodenale are also infective by mouth. Once inside the body, they migrate via lymphatics and the blood stream to the lungs. They break into the alveoli, ascend the bronchi and trachea and are coughed up and swallowed to reach the small intestine, where they become sexually mature. Adult A duodenale and N americanus are believed to be capable of surviving for an average of about one and four years, respectively.
Reservoir
Man is the only important reservoir of human hookworm infection.

Infective Material
Feces containing the ova of hookworms. However, the immediate source of infection is the soil contaminated with infective larvae.

Period of Infectivity
As long as the person harbors the parasite.

Host Factors for Hookworm Infection
Age and Sex
All ages and both sexes are susceptible to infection in endemic areas. The highest incidence is found in the age group 15 to 25 years.

Nutrition
Studies indicate that malnutrition is a predisposing factor. The chronic disabling disease does not occur in the otherwise healthy individual, who is well nourished and whose body gets enough iron.

Host Parasite Balance
In endemic areas, the inhabitants develop a host–parasite balance in which the worm load is limited. They harbor the parasite without manifesting clinical signs and symptoms. In some areas, the infection rate may be a 100 per cent, but most infections are light and only a small proportion of the people are heavily infected. The delicate balance may be upset by malnutrition and inter–current infections. Little is known about host immunity.

Occupation
It is to be expected that hookworm infection will have a higher prevalence in agriculture than in town workers and in many tropical countries, it is an occupational disease of the farming community.

Environmental Factors for Hookworm Infection
Hookworm larvae live in the upper half–inch of the soil. Favorable environmental conditions are therefore crucial for the survival of the hookworm larvae in the soil. These are:
Soil
The soil must be suitable for the eggs and larvae. The type of soil that favors the survival of hookworm larvae is a damp, sandy and friable soil with clay.

Temperature
A temperature of about 24 to 32°C is considered favorable for the survival of the larvae. The eggs fail to develop at temperatures below 13°C. Larvae are killed at 45 to 50°C.

Oxygen
This is required for the growth and development of the larvae.

Moisture
Moisture is necessary for survival of the larvae. Dryness is fatal.

Rainfall
A rainfall of 40 inches and above is considered a favorable environmental factor. More important than the total annual rainfall is the number of rainy days spread out evenly throughout the year to keep up the moisture content of the soil. Flooding is an unfavorable factor.

Shade
Direct sunlight kills the larvae whereas shade protects them.

Human Habits
The habits of the human host not only determine the mode and extent of soil pollution, but also the extent of contact between infected soil and skin or mouth. These include indiscriminate defecation using the same place for defecation, going barefoot, farming practices using untreated sewage, children wading in infected mud with bare feet and hands. These habits are compounded by social factors such as illiteracy, ignorance and a low standard of living.

2

Hookworm

  • Prevention & Control of Hookworm
  • Mode of Transmission of Hookworm
  • Causative Factors of Hookworm Infection

Expert's Advice on Typhoid

Typhoid

Typhoid: Protection and purification of drinking water supplies, improvement of basic sanitation, and promotion of food hygiene are essential measures to interrupt transmission of typhoid fever. read more…

Introducing Digital Practice for Doctors & Healthcare professionals
Swine Flu
National Award for Outstanding achievement by a Non-Professional - Tushar Sampat
Health Professional's Negligence
Health Professional's Negligence
Records of published articles in the newspapers helps common people about precautions to be taken while seeking the services from health professionals and also helps health professionals to rectify the negligence.
read more…
Specialties
Common Symptoms


Aarogya Network

aarogya.com aims to be India’s leading comprehensive health information portal. The site has sections, which cover almost all the medical specialties and give useful information on various diseases. To enhance its reach, the content is available in Indian languages too. We were the first health website to introduce online support groups. Addiction support and Epilepsy support are examples of some very active and vibrant communities.

» Click here to see all our support groups

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

 Get health related new information.

Pune Aarogya
Digital Media Dedicated to Healthcare of Punekars

Health Tools

  • Health Directory
  • Message Board
  • Health Calculators
  • Depression Screening Test

About Aarogya.com

aarogya.com aims to be India’s leading comprehensive health information portal. The site has sections, which cover almost all the medical specialties

Read more...

Suggestions

This is YOUR site, so if you have suggestions or feedback on how we can improve it for you, please let us know! We do our best to keep up!

Read more...

User Comments

“My name is Paulette Conners and I just had to send you an email thanking you since one of the pages on your site was very helpful!”

  • About Us
  • Company Profile
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Feedback
  • Disclaimer
  • Sitemap
  • Invite Your Friends

© 2017 www.aarogya.com. All Rights Reserved.