Helminthiasen

Helminthiasen, also referred to as helminthiasis in some languages, denotes disease caused by infestation with helminths, parasitic worms. The condition encompasses infections by nematodes (roundworms), cestodes (tapeworms), and trematodes (flukes). The clinical presentation ranges from asymptomatic carriage to chronic disease with malnutrition, anemia, organ damage, or obstruction, depending on the species, life cycle, worm burden, and host factors.

Transmission occurs mainly in settings with poor sanitation and contaminated water or soil. Ingestion of eggs or larvae contaminated food, hand-to-mouth contact, skin penetration by larvae (for example hookworms), and ingestion of undercooked or raw intermediate hosts are common routes. Many infections are endemic in tropical and subtropical regions, but travel and migration have spread them to higher latitudes.

Common human helminthiases include ascariasis and trichuriasis (Ascaris lumbricoides and Trichuris trichiura), enterobiasis (pinworm), hookworm disease, taeniasis (tapeworms Taenia solium and Taenia saginata), and schistosomiasis (Schistosoma spp.), as well as liver and bile duct infections by liver flukes such as Clonorchis sinensis. Symptoms vary; light infections may be asymptomatic, while heavy infections can cause abdominal pain, diarrhea, anemia, growth retardation in children, and organ-specific disease.

Diagnosis relies on detection of parasite eggs or larvae in stool, serology, imaging, or molecular tests. Treatment uses appropriate anthelmintics such as albendazole or mebendazole for nematodes, praziquantel for cestodes and trematodes, and ivermectin for select infections. Prevention emphasizes sanitation, safe water, hand hygiene, proper food handling, and, in some settings, community drug administration.