More then 60% of people on planet Earth carry at least one parasite by #56153 4 year
How common are Internal parasites in the world?
How common are internal parasitic animals?
It is estimated that more then 60% of people on planet Earth carry at least one parasite. Many people carry several different species.
Intestinal parasites cause significant morbidity and mortality. Diseases caused by Ascaris lumbricoides, Enterobius vermicularis, Giardia lamblia, Ancylostoma duodenale, Necator americanus,Entamoeba histolytica, Plasmodium falciparum, Fasciola hepatica, Entamoeba dispar, Entamoeba coli, Entamoeba hartmanni, I. bütschlii, D. fragilis, and Giardia intestinalis occur in Europe and in the United States.
The most common parasites identified from North American patients at the Parasitology Center, Inc. (PCI), Tempe, Arizona are listed below in order of their prevalence from high to low:
In the USA, one-third of about 6,000 fecal specimens tested at PCI were positive for 19 species of intestinal parasites (Amin, 0. 2002.Seasonal Prevalence of Intestinal Parasites in the United States during 2000., American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 66(6):799-803). http://www.myplanet.net/yeec60bp/understand_parasites.htm
E. vermicularis, or pinworm, causes irritation and sleep disturbances. Diagnosis can be made using the "cellophane tape test." It is the most prevalent nematode in the United States and in Europe.
Giardia causes nausea, vomiting, malabsorption, diarrhea, and weight loss. Stool ova and parasite studies are diagnostic. Sewage treatment, proper hand washing, and consumption of bottled water can be preventive.
A. duodenale and N. americanus are hookworms that cause blood loss, anemia, pica, and wasting. Finding eggs in the feces is diagnostic. Preventive measures include wearing shoes and treating sewage.
G. lamblia is a pear-shaped, flagellated protozoan (Figure 2) that causes a wide variety of gastrointestinal complaints. Giardia is arguably the most common parasite infection of humans worldwide, and the second most common in the United States after pinworm.8,9 Between 1992 and 1997, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated that more than 2.5 million cases of giardiasis occur annually.10 http://www.aafp.org/afp/20040301/1161.html
Estimates of current numbers of human helminth (worm) infections
Source: Journal of Parasitology85:379-403 Dr. D.W.T. Crompton (Crompton, D.W.T. [1999] How much human helminthiasis is there in the world?)
The species shown in red are considered to be the "commonest helminths or
those judged to have [the] most general public health significance."
In a fecal exam, parasitologists are looking for the microscopic eggs of the worms. Eggs may not always be present in the stool, even though you might have worms. This is why regular deworming is advisable, even though evidence of worms may not be present.
E. vermicularis, commonly referred to as the pinworm or seatworm, is a nematode, or roundworm, with the largest geographic range of any helminth.1 It is the most prevalent nematode in the United States. Humans are the only known host, and about 209 million persons worldwide are infected. More than 30 percent of children worldwide are infected.2
Amoebiasis - death and illness due to dysentery and liver abcess. Worldwide distribution. Estimated 40 million develop intestinal disease or liver abcess annually; 40,000 die from amoebiasis annually. Human is definitive host.
Amebiasis is caused by E. histolytica, a protozoan that is 10 to 60 µm in length and moves through the extension of finger-like pseudopods.1 Spreading occurs via the fecal-oral route, usually by poor hygiene during food preparation or by the use of "night soil" (crop fertilization with human waste), as well as by oral-anal sexual practices. Spreading is frequent in persons who have a deficient im-mune system. Crowding and poor sanitation contribute to its prevalence in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Approximately 10 percent of the world's population is infected, yet 90 percent of infected persons are asymptomatic.17 Of the roughly 50 million symptomatic cases occurring each year, up to 100,000 are fatal.18 The stable reservoir of infective cases complicates eradication. After malaria, it is likely that E. histolytica is the world's second leading protozoan cause of death.19
(Also P.vivax, P.malariae, P.ovale - cause less severe forms of malaria). Malaria - estimated 40% of world's population at risk; 10% severe risk. Major killer of children in tropical Africa. Tropics and subtropics - Africa, Asia and South America. Human is definitive host. Transmitted by mosquitoes - Anopheles. Lifecycle:
Laboratory of Parasitology, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
In 1999-2000, a total of 2060 malaria cases were reported by the ISS. Most of the patients took inappropriate treatments or did not have any prophylaxis. Ninety-three per cent became infected in African malarious countries, 4% in Asian countries, and 3% in Latin America. P. falciparum accounted for 84% of the cases, followed by P.vivax (8%), P. ovale (5%), and P. malariae (2%). Deaths corresponded to an annual case fatality rate of 0.3% in 1999 and 0.5% in 2000. In general, imported malaria cases reflect the number of Italian travellers who underestimate the infection risk in Asian and Latin American malarious countries and permanent residents of African origin who visit their relatives in their native countries.
Malaria is no longer endemic in Italy, but it is the disease most commonly imported into the country. Plasmodium falciparum malaria was eliminated from Italy in the 1950s, where as sporadic P. vivax cases occurred until 1962 in Sicily (1,2). In 1970, the World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared Italy malaria free. A surveillance system was established to prevent a possible return of malaria transmission and to monitor the epidemiology of imported cases. Until 1985, less than 100 cases of imported malaria were reported each year (3). Since then this figure has increased constantly, reaching a peak of 973 cases in 1998 (4). In the decade 1989-98, a total of 6871 malaria cases were officially confirmed; 6852 (99.7%) patients were infected while visiting malarious countries, and 19 (0.3%) were infected locally (4,5). Eighteen of the cases infected in Italy were classified as induced malaria (nine cases), airport malaria (two cases), and baggage malaria (seven cases) (3), and one case as introduced malaria; this was the first case transmitted by indigenous mosquitoes after malaria elimination in Italy (6). We report the epidemiological data on imported malaria in 1999 and 2000 and compare them with data from the previous decade. An evaluation of the incidence of malaria in Italian travellers to malarious countries is also reported.
Statistics on intercontinental travellers from Italy to countries where malaria is endemic were provided by the transport and aviation ministry. These data took into account only passengers leaving Italian airports by national or international airlines.
Results
In the past two years, a total of 2060 cases of malaria were confirmed by the ISS: 1083 in 1999, and 977 in 2000 (figure 1). In both 1999 and 2000, only one case each of P. falciparum malaria was caused by blood transfusion. http://www.eurosurveillance.org/em/v06n10/0610-221.asp
African sleeping sickness - East African form of disease (Rhodesian sleeping sickness) is acute, West African form (Gambian sleeping sickness) is more chronic. 25,000 cases reported per year, but 55 million estimated at risk. Restricted to tropical Africa, largely rural areas. Zoonotic infections, with both wild and domestic animals acting as reservoir hosts of disease. Transmitted by tsetse fly (Glossina):
Ancylostoma duodenale and Necator americanus
Two species of hookworm, A. duodenale and N. americanus, are found exclusively in humans. A. duodenale, or "Old World" hookworm, is found in Europe, Africa, China, Japan, India, and the Pacific islands. N. americanus, the "New World" hookworm, is found in the Americas and the Caribbean, and has recently been reported in Africa, Asia, and the Pacific.
Until the early 1900s, N. americanus infestation was endemic in the southern United States and was only controlled after the widespread use of modern plumbing and footwear. Even though the prevalence of these parasites has drastically decreased in the general population, the CDC reports that in the United States, hookworm infection is the second most common helminthic infection identified in stool studies.14http://www.aafp.org/afp/20040301/1161.html
2. Goldmann DA, Wilson cm. Pinworm infestations. In: Hoekelman RA. Primary pediatric care. 3d ed. St. Louis: Mosby, 1997:1519.
3. MacPherson DW. Intestinal parasites in returned travelers. Med Clin North Am 1999;83:1053-75.
4. Saxena AK, Springer A, Tsokas J, Willital GH. Laparoscopic appendectomy in children with Enterobius vermicularis. Surg Laparosc Endosc Percutan Tech 2001;11:284-6.
5. Dickson R, Awasthi S, Demellweek C, Williamson P. Anthelmintic drugs for treating worms in children: effects on growth and cognitive performance. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2003;(2): CD000371.
6. Parija SC, Sheeladevi C, Shivaprakash MR, Biswal N. Evaluation of lactophenol cotton blue stain for detection of eggs of Enterobius vermicularis in perianal surface samples. Trop Doct 2001;31(4):214-5.
7. Procop GW. Gastrointestinal infections. Infect Dis Clin North Am 2001;15:1073-108.
8. Katz DE, Taylor DN. Parasitic infections of the gastrointestinal tract. Gastroenterol Clin North Am 2001;30:795-815.
9. Leder K, Weller P. Giardiasis. In: Rose BD, ed. Infectious disease. Wellesley, Mass.: UpToDate, 2002.
10. Furness BW, Beach MJ, Roberts JM. Giardiasis surveillance-United States, 1992-1997. MMWR CDC Surveill Summ 2000;49(7):1-13.
11. DuPont HL, Backer HD. Infectious diarrhea from wilderness and foreign travel. In: Auerback PS, ed. Wilderness medicine: management of wilderness and environmental emergencies. 3d ed. St. Louis: Mosby, 1995:1028-59.
12. Glaser C, Lewis P, Wong S. Pet-, animal- and vector-borne infections. Pediatr Rev 2000;21:219-32.
13. Steiger U, Weber M. Ungewöhnliche ursache von erythema nodosum, pleuraerguss und reaktiver arthritis: giardia lamblia. [Unusual etiology of erythema nodosum, pleural effusion and reactive arthritis: Giardia lamblia.] Schweiz Rundsch Med Prax 2002;91:1091-2.
14. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Publication of CDC surveillance summaries. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 1992;41(8):145-6.
15. Kitchen LW. Case studies in international medicine. Am Fam Physician 1999;59:3040-4.
16. Ali-Ahmad N, Bathija M, Abuhammour W. Index of suspicion. Case #2. Diagnosis: anemia from hookworm infestation. Pediatr Rev 2000;21:354-7.
17. Reed SL. Amebiasis and infection with free-living amebas. In: Harrison TR, Fauci AS, Braunwald E, et al., eds. Harrison's Principles of internal medicine. 15th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2001:1199-202.
18. Walsh JA. Problems in recognition and diagnosis of amebiasis: estimation of the global magnitude of morbidity and mortality. Rev Infect Dis 1986;8:228-38.
19. Petri WA Jr, Singh U. Diagnosis and management of amebiasis. Clin Infect Dis 1999;29:1117-25.
20. Stanley SJ. Pathophysiology of amoebiasis. Trends Parasitol 2001;17:280-5.
21. Kimura K, Stoopen M, Reeder MM, Moncada R. Amebiasis: modern diagnostic imaging with pathological and clinical correlation. Semin Roentgenol 1997;32:250-75.
22. Huston CD, Petri WA. Amebiasis. In: Rakel R, ed. Conn's Current therapy 2001. Philadelphia: Saunders, 2001:64-5.
