Necator americanus Hookworm infections

Hookworm infection is caused by Ancylostoma duodenale or Necator americanus. N. americanus is found in the southeastern United States. Infective larvae enter the host in contaminated food or water or penetrate the skin and migrate to the small intestine. The adult worm attaches to gastrointestinal mucosa and causes injury by lytic destruction of the tissue. Over a period of time, the adult worm can cause anemia and hypopro-teinemia in the host. 

Behnke, J.M., Rose, R. and Little, J. (1994b) Resistance of the hookworms Ancylostoma ceylanicum and Necator americanus to intestinal inflammatory responses induced by heterologous infection. Intemationaljoumal of Parasitology 24, 91-101. 

Pyrantel pamoate is active against several roundworms A lumbricoides, Ancylostoma duodenale, Necator americanus, and E. vermicularis. Pyrantel is an alternative drug of choice in treating infections with A lumbricoides, E. vermicularis (pinworms), and hookworms N. americanus and A. duodenale). It is not recommended for pregnant patients or for children under age 1 year. 

The hookworm disease is caused by the blood sucking nematodes, Anajlos-toma duodenale, A. ceylanicum and Necator americanus, commonly known as hookworms, in the intestine of human. The infection normally takes place when farmers working in coffee, banana, sugarcane, sweet potato, rice and maize fields expose their bare feet to the soil fertilized with human excreta where the infective larvae penetrate the skin and enter the blood circulation. These larvae eventually grow into adult hookworms and live in the intestine where they engulf the intestinal villi into their buccal cavities and survive on direct blood feed from the host. 

Mebendazole is a benzimidazole that kills parasitic worms by blocking glucose uptake, thus depleting stored glycogen. Without glycogen, parasites cannot reproduce or survive. It is indicated in the treatment of Trichuris trichuria (whipworm), Enterobius vermicularis (pinworm), Ascaris lum-bricoides (roundworm), Ancylostoma duodenale (common hookworm), or Necator americanus (American hookworm), in single infection or mixed infections. 

HOOKWORM infection (Ancylostoma duodenale, Necator americanus)... 

Naegleria species, see Amebic MeningoencephaUtis, Primary Necator americanus, see Hookworm infection... 

Maxwell C, Hussain R, Nutman TB et al. The clinical and immunologic responses of normal human volunteers to low dose hookworm (Necator americanus) infection. Am J Trop Med Hyg 1987 37(1) 126-134. 

Neglected tropical diseases affect a substantial proportion of the world population. Estimates show that around 1.2 billion people are infected with Ascaris lum-bricoides (roundworm) 795 million with Trichuris trichi-ura (whipworm) 740 million with Necator americanus and Ancylostoma duodenale (hookworm) 200 million with Schistosoma mansoni, S. haematobium, or S. japonicum (bilharzia) 120 million with lymphatic filariasis (elephantiasis) and 25 million with Onchocerca volvulus (river blindness or onchocerciasis). 

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