Whipworm Disease

Whipworm Disease

Whipworm disease (trichuriasis) is caused by whipworm, scientifically known as Trichuris trichiura (Al Amin & Wadhwa, 2022). Trichuris trichiura is spread through the fecal-oral route. They have a direct life cycle and do not need intermediate hosts (Viswanath et al., 2021). The life cycle begins with the passage of unembryonated eggs into feces. When an individual defecates in an open area, eggs found in the human feces are deposited in the soil. The eggs become infective after ten to fourteen days in the soil. Individuals, primarily children, are highly susceptible to coming into contact with infected soil and ingesting the eggs. The unembryonated eggs undergo advanced cleavage to form embryonated eggs, which are ingested. Trichuris trichiura infection is confined to the gastrointestinal tract. The larvae hatch in the small intestine. Hatched larvae grow, molt, and reside in the ascending colon and caecum. In individuals with many infections, the larvae reside in the caecum, rectum, and entire colon. The life cycle from ingestion of eggs to maturity of the worm is about three months. Mature worms survive for one to five years. Adult female worms shed around 20,000 eggs per day and lay eggs for about five years.

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Whipworm disease commonly occurs in tropical Asia and has low numbers in South America and Africa (Viswanath et al., 2021). It mainly affects developing countries with poor sanitary conditions. In the United States, whipworm infections are rare, and the few cases experienced occur in the rural southeast. Diagnosed patients are primarily children as compared to adults. Male children are more infected since they tend to eat a lot of dirt.

My opinion on whipworm disease is that it is an infection that can easily be prevented and eradicated. The risk of infection can be lowered by maintaining high hygiene standards. Community members should be educated on the dangers of defecating in open spaces. Children and adults should be trained on proper handwashing techniques and cleaning vegetables and food from the farms.

References

Al Amin ASM & Wadhwa R. (2022). Helminthiasis. StatPearls Publishing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK560525/

Viswanath, A., Yarrarapu, S.N.S., & Williams, M. (2021). Trichuris trichiura. StatPearls Publishing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK507843/

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Eukaryotic microorganisms that cause diseases and debilitating conditions are of particular concern in parts of the world that lack resources, and many are considered “Neglected Tropical Diseases” or NTDs by the World Health Organization. Pathogens in this group are of great Global Health concern constituting a significant burden on the health and economy of the affected societies.

Whipworm Disease

For your main posting: research one of the NTDs listed below and answer the following questions:

Complete the scientific name of the disease-causing organism (you can include a picture of the organism/disease)
Are there any animals or insects essential for its life cycle as hosts or carriers (vectors)?
Where is it most often found and how it impact the individual/society/country?
What is your opinion about the importance of this pathogen/disease based on your readings? Are there measures that could be taken to lower the risk of infection?
Choose one of the following diseases:

Ascariasis (roundworm)
Chagas’ disease
Dracunculiasis (Guinea worm disease)
Hookworm
Human African trypanosomiasis
Leishmaniasis
Lymphatic filariasis (elephantiasis)
Onchocerciasis (river blindness)
Schistosomiasis (Bilharzia, snail fever)
Whipworm disease (Trichuriasis)
For your response(s) to Topic 1 classmate’s postings: focus discussion in particular on questions (c) and (d), using the same or a different NTD.

Watch: A World Without Neglected Tropical Diseases – YouTube

The following are good sources of information in addition to scientific articles: websites of NIH, CDC, WHO and similar organizations)