Strongloidiasis
Shueyeng Vue
Lifestyle/lifecycle
- Lifecycle:
- The tiny worms penetrate the skin and enter the bloodstream.
- The worms then move through the bloodstream and pass through the right side of the heart and into the lungs.
- The parasites travel from the lungs up the windpipe and into the mouth.
- The infected person unknowingly swallows the worms into his or her stomach.
- The worms move into the small intestine of the human host.
- The worms lay eggs, which hatch into larvae.
- The larvae are expelled from the host’s body in his or her feces.
- The larvae can infect the body by penetrating the skin around the anus or they can develop into mature worms and infect another host on contact.
- Lifestyle: The Strongloidiasis are free-living at juvenile stage of their life. They become parasitic once they are mature adults and get inside a host body.
Life Cycle
Strongloidiasis
A picture of the worm.
Inside the Host
Symptom/treatment/Location
- In most case, strongyloidiasis causes no symptom. If symptom are present, they may include: upper abdominal pain or burning, diarrhea or alternating diarrhea and constipation, cough, rash, red hives near the anus, vomiting, weight loss.
- Treatment:The medicine of choice to treat strongyloidiasis is a single dose of the anti-parasitic medication Ivermectin, given for one or two days. Ivermectin works by killing the worms in your small intestine.
- You are more likely to have the infection if you travel to South America, Africa, or other tropical regions. You are at a much higher risk if you travel to rural areas, areas with unsanitary living conditions, or areas without adequate public health services.
Resources Cite
"The Nasty Truth About Strongyloidiasis." Healthline. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2015.