The 2 principal species of hookworms infecting humans are Necator americanus and Ancylostoma duodenale. Case studies on zoonotic hookworm infections with Ancylostoma ceylanicum and/or Ancylostoma caninum are known mainly from Asian countries. Of these 2 zoonotic species, only A. ceylanicum can develop to adulthood in humans. In the present study, we report a molecular-based survey of human hook...

BACKGROUND It is generally assumed that hookworm infections in humans are caused by Necator americanus and Ancylostoma duodenale. However, previous studies have also reported the presence of the animal hookworm A. ceylanicum in human stools. METHODS We determined hookworm infections in children in a tribal community in Tamil Nadu, India, using a semi-nested PCR-RFLP approach. RESULTS The re...

Species identification of human hookworm infections among eight communities in rural areas of Peninsular Malaysia was determined during 2009-2011. Fecal samples were examined by microscopy and subsequently, the internal transcribed spacer 2 and 28S ribosomal RNA region of Necator americanus and Ancylostoma spp. were sequenced. Overall, 9.1% (58 of 634) were identified positive by microscopy for...

Trichostrongylus eggs observed in cellophane-thick smears are difficult, in practice, to distinguish from hookworm eggs. In order to overcome these limitations, a molecular approach was conducted. A Trichostrongylus colubriformis adult worm was obtained from a human in Laos, which was identified morphologically. ITS-1 sequence of this worm was determined, and found to be most similar with that ...

Cytokine and proliferative responses to Necator americanus infection were measured in a treatment-reinfection study of infected subjects from an area of Papua New Guinea where N. americanus is highly endemic. Before treatment, most subjects produced detectable interleukin (IL)-4 (97%), IL-5 (86%), and interferon (IFN)- gamma (64%) in response to adult N. americanus antigen. Pretreatment IFN- ga...

Helminth infection is a major health problem of children from rural areas of developing countries and it is an important cause of morbidity in school age children especially primary school pupils (4 to 15 years) who harbor the highest intensity of worm infestation [1,2]. Five species are responsible for widespread disease in humans and these include Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura, ho...

To the Editor, The Indian ivikijiuau uamuc. Dear Sir,?I shall be thankful if any of your readers, especially those who are engaged on research on the subject, will kindly enlighten me on the following points:? (1) What is the average life of a hookworm, Ancylostoma duodenale or Necator americanus? (2) What can happen to an untreated person who has got a very mild infection of hookworm and who i...

We describe how hookworms interact with their human hosts by comparing lymphocyte phenotyping, proliferative responses, and cytokine and chemokine secretion patterns in adults who are either mono-infected with Necator americanus or egg-negative controls resident in an area of high transmission in Brazil. Cellular immune responses against crude hookworm antigen extracts from different developmen...