Ankylostomoza

Proven content

Ankylostomosis is a disease caused by infection with a duodenal hookworm, also known as hookworm disease, and is very rare. However, it was recognized in the post-war period in Poland in the area of ​​Silesian mines. The parasite that causes the disease is small and about 15 mm long, while the first symptoms are local, e.g. dermatitis.

What is ankylostomosis?

Ankylostomosis is an infectious disease / condition otherwise known as miner’s anemia or hookworm disease. The disease develops as a result of infection with a duodenal hookworm. The parasite is very small, on average 15 mm long, while the female lays eggs which then develop into the larvae. The larvae penetrating the human skin, quickly penetrate into the blood vessels and lymphatic vessels, and from there along with the blood they travel to the heart and respiratory organs, and finally through the trachea and oral cavity to the digestive tract. In a patient with ankylostomosis, as a result of damage to the mucosa of the small intestine, bleeding occurs, which in turn leads to anemia. On the other hand, the parasite that travels through the lungs causes breathlessness and coughing in the patient. In the diagnosis of this disease, fecal examination is mainly performed.

Ankylostomosis – causes of formation

As mentioned above, ankylostomosis is caused by hookworm parasites. Exactly the disease is caused by two species of hookworm, namely: the duodenal hookworm or the American hookworm. In order for the parasites to develop properly, they need appropriate conditions, i.e. the right temperature and air humidity (which is why infection occurs so often in the mine environment). Infection usually occurs through the skin, and a person becomes infected with hookworms through contact with soil contaminated with these larvae. This disease occurs mainly in the Mediterranean countries of Europe and Africa, but also in Central and South America and Asia with Japan. Factors contributing to ankylostomosis are also:

1. contaminated water (ingestion of eggs in dirty water),
2. unwashed fruit,
3. unwashed vegetables.

Symptoms of ankylostomosis

The first symptoms that indicate infection with a duodenal hookworm are local symptoms, in the form of dermatitis in the period of penetration of the larvae through it into the vessels. On the other hand, during the migration of the larvae through the body, general symptoms are more intense.

In the third phase of their stay in the intestines, the parasites stick with their teeth to the intestinal mucosa, damaging it at the same time and causing chronic bleeding. Parasites feed on human blood, hence infection with this parasite promotes progressive anemia. One parasite, regardless of the cause of prolonged bleeding from the damaged mucosa (its secretion hinders blood clotting), drinks approx. 1 ml of blood each day.

Anemia with hypereosinophilia can quickly occur in the event of an intense infestation (sometimes numbering from several hundred to several thousand). In addition to anemia, the following are characteristic of ankylostomosis:

1. stomach pain,
2. gastrointestinal disorders,
3. progressive weakness,
4. emaciation.

Moreover, in patients with ankylostomosis, frequent bowel movements (about ten a day) occur, especially after eating. Other symptoms of the gastrointestinal tract are also: vomiting, nausea, sometimes diarrhea, eating disorders, flatulence and neurological disorders.

Attention! The environment of coal mines is a favorable condition for the existence of this parasite and the development of ankylostomosis.

Ankylostomosis – diagnosis and treatment

The diagnosis of this ailment is based on the disclosure of a parasite or larvae in a specially established culture in the patient’s stool. For this purpose, a stool sample is examined under a microscope, it should be remembered that the detection of parasite eggs is possible in advanced disease. On the other hand, during the physical examination, the doctor finds pain while compressing the entire abdomen. In addition, a blood test is ordered, which indicates the amount of eosinophilia (their number increases by several dozen percent when infected with a parasite). A blood test may also reveal hypochromatic anemia.

Treatment of ailments should be carried out by a physician with simultaneous sanitary supervision of the environment in which the infection was detected. The therapy consists in administering parasitic preparations to the patient and symptomatic treatment.

How to prevent ankylostomosis?

Prevention against ankylostomosis consists in:

1. taking care of personal hygiene,
2. supervising and checking specific professional groups in terms of duodenal hookworm infection,
3. general sanitary and parasitological control of the mining work environment.

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