Hookworm

Preventing hookworm infections

Source: NHS

In this topic (5)

If you're travelling to a tropical or sub-tropical region of the world where hookworm infections are common, avoid walking barefoot in areas where there may be contaminated soil, and don't touch soil or sand with your bare hands.

Good hygiene standards and effective sewage disposal systems are the reason hookworm infections aren't commonly seen in developed countriessuch asthe UK, although they may still be a problem in some Mediterranean countries.

An estimated 576-740 million people in the world are infected with hookworm.



Articles for Hookworm

Diagnosing and treating a hookworm infection

Hookworm infections can be diagnosed by inspecting a stool sample under a microscope in a laboratory and looking for the eggs. If there's an infection, the number of eggs will be counted to see how se

Introduction

Read about the symptoms of a hookworm infection, and how it's spread, diagnosed, treated and prevented.

Preventing hookworm infections

If you're travelling to a tropical or sub-tropical region of the world where hookworm infections are common, avoid walking barefoot in areas where there may be contaminated soil, and don't touch soil

Symptoms of a hookworm infection

Most people infected with hookworm don't have any symptoms. The larvae of animal hookworms sometimes get into the skin, usually after lying on sand contaminated by animal faeces while on a beach holi

The hookworm life cycle

The larvae and adult worms live in the small intestine (small bowel) of an infected person or animal. If an infected person defecates outside (for example, near bushes or in a field) or if their stoo