BACKGROUND The blood-feeding hookworm Necator americanus infects hundreds of millions of people worldwide. In order to elucidate fundamental molecular biological aspects of this hookworm, the transcriptome of the adult stage of Necator americanus was explored using next-generation sequencing and bioinformatic analyses. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS A total of 19,997 contigs were assembled fr...

We examined risk factors associated with Necator americanus infection among persons aged > or =50 years in Hainan Province, People's Republic of China. Age and sex made the most important contributions to the variation in infection intensity (28%-30%), with age alone responsible for 27% of this variation. When stratified by 20-year age intervals, the influence of shared residence was 23% for pe...

This report describes clinical and parasitological findings of an 82-yr-old female patient who lived in a local rural village and suffered from severe chronic anemia for several years. She was transferred to the National Police Hospital in Seoul for management of severe dyspnea and dizziness. At admission, she showed symptoms or signs of severe anemia. Gastroduodenoscopy observed hyperemic muco...

An article in a recent issue of this journal by Dr. A. C. Chandler on soil acidity and survival of hookworm.larvae begins as follows: " It is a prevalent opinion that acidity in soil has a tendency to shorten the life of infective hookworm larvae. Hirst (1924), for instance, says "a markedly acid reaction is also most unfavourable to the continued survival of hookworm larvae" and remarks that t...

Resistance to the development of human hookworm, Necator americanus was examined in 3- to 6-week-old young adult hamsters. Only 3% of N. americanus infective third stage larvae (NaL3) reached maturity in the intestines of young adults as opposed to as many as 60% in 2-day-old baby hamsters. This seemingly effective resistance prevailing in young adults was investigated in some detail. The skin,...

Necator americanus, a haematophagous hookworm parasite, infects ~10% of the world's population and is considered to be a significant public health risk. Its lifecycle has distinct stages, permitting its successful transit from the skin via the lungs (L3) to the intestinal tract (L4 maturing to adult). It has been hypothesised that the L3 larval sheath, which is shed during percutaneous infectio...

Hookworm infections (Necator americanus, Ancylostoma duodenale) are common in rural areas of tropical and subtropical countries. Human get infection from direct percutaneous invasion infective larva contaminated soil. The majority infected patients remain asymptomatic. However, iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) due to chronic blood loss is the major complication. Here we presented a case with its r...

Parasitic helminths induce chronic infections in their hosts although, with most human helminthiases, protective immunity gradually develops with age or exposure of the host. One exception is infection with the human hookworm, Necator americanus, where virtually no protection ensues over time. Such observations suggest these parasites have developed unique mechanisms to evade host immunity, lea...