Table of Contents
Is ascariasis caused by contaminated food and water?
A person can contract ascariasis by eating or drinking contaminated food or water, especially if they do not adequately wash the food or their hands. Children may be contaminated by playing with soil or plants and putting their hands in their mouths.
How is the ascariasis disease transmitted?
How is ascariasis spread? Ascaris lives in the intestine and Ascaris eggs are passed in the feces of infected persons. If the infected person defecates outside (near bushes, in a garden, or field), or if the feces of an infected person are used as fertilizer, then eggs are deposited on the soil.
Is ascariasis a infectious disease?
Ascariasis is the most prevalent intestinal helminth infection in the world. Eggs hatch in the intestines, and larvae migrate first to the lungs and then to the intestines, where they mature.
Which type of pathogen causes the water borne disease ascariasis?
Ascariasis is an infection of the small intestine caused by Ascaris lumbricoides, which is a species of roundworm. Roundworms are a type of parasitic worm. Infections caused by roundworms are fairly common. Ascariasis is the most common roundworm infection.
Is Ascaris a protozoan disease?
You will learn about the intestinal protozoa (single-celled organisms) causing amoebiasis and giardiasis, and the intestinal helminths known as ascaris worms and hookworms.
How contagious are roundworms?
Are roundworms contagious? Yes. If you come into contact with infected poop of people or animals, you can get roundworms. You can also get them by touching infected surfaces, like soil.
Is Ascaris a protozoan?
Is ascariasis a non communicable disease?
Ascariasis is communicable as long as the mature fertilised female worm lives in the intestine.
Where does ascariasis live in the human body?
Ascariasis is now not common in the United States. Ascaris parasites live in the intestine. Ascaris eggs are passed in the feces (poop) of infected people. If an infected person defecates outside (for example, near bushes, in a garden, or in a field), or if the feces of an infected person is used as fertilizer, worm eggs are deposited on soil.
What kind of worm is known as ascariasis?
Ascariasis. Ascaris, hookworm, and whipworm are parasitic worms known as soil-transmitted helminths (STH). Together, they account for a major burden of parasitic disease worldwide. Ascariasis is now uncommon in the United States.
What are the symptoms of ascariasis in children?
Symptoms include abdominal discomfort or pain. Heavy infections can block the intestines and slow growth in children. Other symptoms such as cough are due to migration of the worms through the body. Ascariasis is treatable with medication prescribed by your healthcare provider. Humans can also be infected by pig roundworm ( Ascaris suum ).
How is ascariasis treated by World Health Organization?
Ascariasis can be effectively treated with mebendazole or pyrantel pamoate. Written for World Water Day2001. Reviewed by staff and experts from the cluster on Communicable Diseases (CDS) and Water, Sanitation and Health unit (WSH), World Health Organization (WHO).