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Parasitic nematode worms
Parasitic nematode worms (Ascaris lumbricoides). These are the largest of the human intestinal parasites. An adult female may measure 35 centimeters in length. Infestation with the worms (ascariasis) causes abdominal pain, vomiting, constipation and diarrhoea. The female lays up to 20,000 eggs each day, which are passed out in the faeces and ingested by a new host through contaminated water or food. The larvae hatch in the small intestine and travel through the blood to the lungs, where they can provoke pneumonia. The juvenile worms migrate up the airway and are swallowed, thereby returning to the intestines to mature. Treatment is with anthelmintic drugs.
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