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Many of the worms referred to as helminths are intestinal parasites. An infection by a helminth is known as helminthiasis, helminth infection, or intestinal worm infection. There is a naming convention which applies to all helminths: the ending "-asis" (or in veterinary science: "-osis") is added at the end of the name of the worm to denote the ...
Major groups of parasites include protozoans (organisms having only one cell) and parasitic worms (helminths). Of these, protozoans, including cryptosporidium, microsporidia, and isospora, are most common in HIV-infected persons. Each of these parasites can infect the digestive tract, and sometimes two or more can cause infection at the same time.
Helminthiasis, also known as worm infection, is any macroparasitic disease of humans and other animals in which a part of the body is infected with parasitic worms, known as helminths. There are numerous species of these parasites , which are broadly classified into tapeworms , flukes , and roundworms .
It is the leading cause of anemia and undernutrition in developing countries, while being one of the most commonly occurring diseases among poor people. Hookworm thrives in areas where rainfall is sufficient and keeps the soil from drying out, and where temperatures are higher, making rural, coastal areas prime conditions for the parasite to breed.
Image showing life cycle inside and outside of the human body of one fairly well described helminth: A. lumbricoides. Ascaris lumbricoides, a roundworm, infects humans via the fecal-oral route. Eggs released by adult females are shed in feces. Unfertilized eggs are often observed in fecal samples but never become infective.
Ascaris is a nematode genus of parasitic worms known as the "small intestinal roundworms". [1] One species, Ascaris lumbricoides , affects humans and causes the disease ascariasis . Another species, Ascaris suum , typically infects pigs .
The pinworm (species Enterobius vermicularis), also known as threadworm (in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand) or seatworm, is a parasitic worm.It is a nematode (roundworm) and a common intestinal parasite or helminth, especially in humans. [7]
The field studies the taxonomy of helminths and their effects on their hosts. The origin of the first compound of the word is the Greek ἕλμινς - helmins, meaning "worm". In the 18th and early 19th century there was wave of publications on helminthology; this period has been described as the science's "Golden Era".