Ascariasis

Infection is concentrated in developing countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

Acquired by ingesting eggs that are passed in human feces and mature in the soil.

Diagnosis can be made in most cases by finding characteristic eggs in a stool sample.

Treated with oral anthelmintic agents.

Ascaris lumbricoides, a fleshy, cylindrical roundworm, is the largest nematode to parasitize the human gut. Adult male and female worms live for about a year, during which time a single female can produce up to 240,000 eggs per day.[1]Diemert DJ. Ascariasis. In: Guerrant RL, Walker DH, Weller PF, eds. Tropical infectious diseases: principles, pathogens and practice. 3rd ed. Edinburgh: W.B. Saunders; 2011:794-8.[2]Pullan RL, Smith JL, Jasrasaria R, et al. Global numbers of infection and disease burden of soil transmitted helminth infections in 2010. Parasit Vectors. 2014 Jan 21;7:37. https://www.doi.org/10.1186/1756-3305-7-37 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24447578?tool=bestpractice.com An estimated 819 to 1221 million humans are infected worldwide, most of whom are children in developing countries.[2]Pullan RL, Smith JL, Jasrasaria R, et al. Global numbers of infection and disease burden of soil transmitted helminth infections in 2010. Parasit Vectors. 2014 Jan 21;7:37. https://www.doi.org/10.1186/1756-3305-7-37 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24447578?tool=bestpractice.com [3]de Silva NR, Chan MS, Bundy DA. Morbidity and mortality due to ascariasis: re-estimation and sensitivity analysis of global numbers at risk. Trop Med Int Health. 1997;2:519-528. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9236818?tool=bestpractice.com Although frequently asymptomatic, ascariasis can cause gastrointestinal and hepatobiliary obstruction, and can contribute to cognitive and growth delay in children.[1]Diemert DJ. Ascariasis. In: Guerrant RL, Walker DH, Weller PF, eds. Tropical infectious diseases: principles, pathogens and practice. 3rd ed. Edinburgh: W.B. Saunders; 2011:794-8.[2]Pullan RL, Smith JL, Jasrasaria R, et al. Global numbers of infection and disease burden of soil transmitted helminth infections in 2010. Parasit Vectors. 2014 Jan 21;7:37. https://www.doi.org/10.1186/1756-3305-7-37 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24447578?tool=bestpractice.com