25 research outputs found
Effect of Sanitation on Soil-Transmitted Helminth Infection: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
A systematic review and meta-analysis by Kathrin Ziegelbauer and colleagues finds that sanitation is associated with a reduced risk of transmission of helminthiases to humans
Strongyloides stercoralis and Strongyloidosis
Strongyloidosis is a chronic, soil-transmitted, intestinal parasitic disease.
Strongyloides stercoralis is a roundworm and the main causative agent of this
disease. S. stercoralis has a unique life cycle, which consists of direct (homogonic)
development and indirect (heterogonic) development. Parasitic adult females produce
both sexes of the next generation parthenogenetically. Female larvae can
choose the direct or indirect development depending on various environmental
conditions. Autoinfection is one of the characteristic features of this parasite,
which causes hyperinfection and disseminated infection. Strongyloidosis occurs
mostly in humid tropics and subtropics of more than 70 countries, affecting people
between 30 million and 100 million or higher. However, the precise number is not
known up to the present, because of difficulties in diagnosis. Even in highly
developed countries, like the USA, serious problems have been caused by transmission
of S. stercoralis through organ transplantation. We describe the current
status of strongyloidosis with special reference to biology, epidemiology, immunology,
and vaccine development