Parasitic roundworms belong to the phylum nematoda and are sometimes called nematodes. According to the University of California Museum of Paleontology, more than 15,000 roundworms have been identified by scientists and up to 500,000 more may yet be undiscovered. Fortunately for humans, only a few types can infect people and cause disease and most of these are avoidable or treatable.
Ascaris Lumbricoides
Ascaris lumbricoides causes the disease ascariasis, which infects the intestines and is characterized by abdominal pain, nausea, diarrhea and the presence of worms or blood in the stool. They may also infect the lungs and lead to pneumonia. According to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, more than 1.4 billion people in the world are infected with Ascaris lumbricoides. An infection with Ascaris can be treated with the medicines mebendazole, albendazole and pyrantel pamoate.
Hookworm
Widespread in tropical areas of the world, hookworm is fairly rare in the United States. They can be picked up by walking over contaminated soil barefoot and may create an itchy area where the worm larvae entered the body. Diarrhea, abdominal pain, nausea and cramps can be symptoms of an infection. Hookworms can cause anemia because they feed off of the blood of their host, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. Hookworm treatment involves taking mebendazole or albendazole and an iron supplement to fend off anemia.
Pinworm
According to the Cleveland Clinic, pinworm is the most common roundworm infecting people in the U.S. and it mainly infects children. Infection with pinworms typically produces mild symptoms and is often the result of poor hygiene, since these worms can only infect someone via the mouth. Left untreated, the body will get rid of the pinworm infection on its own, but some doctors treat it with the medicines mebendazole or pyrantel pamoate.
Trichinella Spiralis
Trichinella spiralis causes the disease trichinosis, which is spread through contaminated meat, most commonly undercooked pork. Some symptoms of trichinosis are abdominal pain, diarrhea, sensitivity to light, muscle pain, pink eye, fever and headache. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, Trichinella spiralis does not stay in the intestinal tract, but migrates to the muscles and forms cysts there that can remain for years. There is no treatment available for trichinosis.
Whipworm
Whipworm causes mild symptoms when it infects people, including abdominal pain and diarrhea. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease explains that whipworm is transmitted when someone ingests the eggs of the parasite, either from contaminated food or by touching the mouth after handling contaminated soil. Most common in children, whipworm affects about 800,000 people around the world. The drugs mebendazole or albendazole can be used to treat whipworm infecton.
