Soil-transmitted helminth

The soil-transmitted helminths (also called geohelminths) are a group of intestinal parasites belonging to the phylum Nematoda that are transmitted primarily through contaminated soil. They are so called because they have a direct life cycle which requires no intermediate hosts or vectors, and the parasitic infection occurs through faecal contamination of soil, foodstuffs and water supplies. The adult forms are essentially parasites of humans, causing soil-transmitted helminthiasis (STH), but also infect domesticated mammals. The juveniles are the infective forms and they undergo tissue-migratory stages during which they invade vital organs such as lungs and liver. Thus the disease manifestations can be both local and systemic. The geohelminths together present an enormous infection burden on humanity, amounting to 135,000 deaths every year, and persistent infection of more than two billion people.[1][2]

  1. ^ Holland CV, Kennedy MW (Eds.) (2002). The Geohelminths: Ascaris, Trichuris and Hookworm. Springer. pp. 1–352. ISBN 978-0-7923-7557-9.
  2. ^ Bethony J, Brooker S, Albonico M, Geiger SM, Loukas A, Diemert D, Hotez PJ (2006). "Soil-transmitted helminth infections: ascariasis, trichuriasis, and hookworm". The Lancet. 367 (9521): 1521–1532. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(06)68653-4. PMID 16679166. S2CID 8425278.