Trends in Parasitology
Volume 37, Issue 9, September 2021, Pages 844-845
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Parasite of the Month
Ancylostoma ceylanicum

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pt.2021.04.013Get rights and content

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KEY FACTS:

Microscopy-based diagnostic techniques are unable to differentiate hookworm eggs at species level. Molecular tools can identify hookworm species directly from eggs in faeces and have led to the discovery of A. ceylanicum as a hookworm infecting humans with an estimated 100 million cases worldwide.

A. ceylanicum/hamster is used as a laboratory model for studying human hookworm infection.

Control strategies for hookworms aim to reduce morbidity through periodic treatment of at-risk human

DISEASE FACTS:

Clinical outcomes of A. ceylanicum infections in humans include increase in eosinophil count, temporary ground itch, abdominal pain, fatigue, weight loss, fever, diarrhoea, melena, vomiting, and dyspnoea.

Hookworm infection causes blood loss and iron-deficiency anaemia, which may have serious implications for women of child-bearing age, pregnant women, and children living in hookworm-endemic countries.

In dogs, heavy infections result in large quantities of blood loss in the stool followed by

TAXONOMY AND CLASSIFICATION:

PHYLUM: Nematoda

CLASS: Chromadorea

ORDER: Strongylida

FAMILY: Ancylostomatidae

GENUS: Ancylostoma

SPECIES: A. ceylanicum

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Elanco Animal Health for providing scanning electron microscope (SEM) microphotographs of adult A. ceylanicum.

Declaration of interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

References (0)

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    In addition, Ancylostoma caninum can produce eosinophilic enteritis and aphthous ileitis (Croese et al., 1994; Walker et al., 1995; Prociv and Croese, 1990) and recent findings suggest that this hookworm may also complete its life cycle in humans (Ngcamphalala et al., 2019). Ancylostoma ceylanicum, on the other hand, is commonly reported to cause human patent infections throughout the Asia Pacific region, sometimes with accompanying clinical signs of diarrhoea and anaemia (Traub, 2013; Stracke et al., 2020; Traub et al., 2021; Colella et al., 2021a). While hookworms are frequently reported in Australia, the zoonotic roundworm, T. canis, has been detected with a prevalence of less than 0.5% in pet dogs (Palmer et al., 2008).

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    Its distribution in humans largely mirrors its distribution in domestic dogs and cats (Traub, 2013; Stracke et al., 2020; Colella et al., 2021a). For the most up-to-date map of the distribution of A. ceylanicum in humans and domestic dogs and cats, see Colella et al. (2021a). Although its overall prevalence in humans remains largely similar to those reported in the early-to-mid 1900s, what has emerged is the realisation that A. ceylanicum is capable of producing patent infections and that eggs are shed in sufficient intensities to be detected by conventional PCR and Sanger sequencing (in addition to realtime PCR), even when present in mixed infections with the anthroponotic hookworms (Traub et al., 2008; Colella et al., 2021b; Conlan et al., 2012; Inpankaew et al., 2014a; Jiraanankul et al., 2011; Ngui et al., 2012; Bradbury et al., 2017; Pa Pa Aung et al., 2017; O'Connell et al., 2018) (Table 1).

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    However, to date, no data have been available on the efficacy of anthelminthic drugs against A. ceylanicum, despite an estimated 100 million people estimated to be infected with this parasite.14 Similarly, despite report of infections in humans showing clinical signs such as eosinophilia, diarrhoea, melena, dyspnoea, and anaemia, studies elucidating A. ceylanicum-associated morbidity at a population scale have not yet been performed.14,15,50 A single dose of albendazole showed promising efficacy against A. ceylanicum, with comparable CRs and ERRs to other human-only hookworm species.

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