Roundworms Health Video

Roundworms are popular parasites in the animal world and can have debilitating effects on humans. Learn more about roundworms in this medical video.

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Have pets checked for worm infections
Avoid improperly prepared foods
Maintain good hygiene and sanitation
Seek medical attention

About this Author

Dr. Susan McGladdery is a medical graduate from Oxford University in the UK and has a Master's Degree in Medical Sciences from Cambridge University. She has been a member of the Royal College of Physicians since 1991 and a member of the American Academy of Urgent Care since 2006. She trained as a Family Physician in the UK in Oxford and then in London. In a medical career that spans over 20 years, she has worked as a doctor in 5 countries on 3 continents and cared for patients from a multitude of different nationalities and backgrounds. Dr. McGladdery joined FirstMed Centers in mid 2002 and became Regional Medical Director in 2003.

Dr. SUSAN MCGLADERRY: Hello! My name is Dr. Susan McGladerry. I'm the medical director from First Med Centers in Budapest Hungary. I would like to talk to you a little bit about roundworm infections. These are caused by nematodes, parasitic worms with long cylindrical bodies that cause diseases of the digestive tract and other organ systems. They are widespread throughout the world but with some regional differences. The courses and the symptoms of the roundworm infection vary according to the species and also depending on the life cycle of the parasite. The symptoms can range from no symptoms at all to an acute toxic food poisoning-like syndrome. And in some cases, also causing chronic condition where there may be fatigue, anemia, weight loss, and general feelings of malaise. How do you humans get these infections? Well, it comes from eating contaminated food or from simply not washing hands properly before eating. The infection start with the ingestion of eggs and these may be found in the soil or the environment or in contaminated meat. Larvae hatch in the digestive tract and from there, they pass via the blood either into the muscles or the lungs, the liver, or even the brain, depending on the type of parasite. There are several different kinds of roundworm infection and I'm just going to mention a few. The first one is anisakiasis. This is most common in countries where raw or pickled fish or squid is very popular. So Japan, the Netherlands, even in the US. Ascariasis is another roundworm infection. This one is one of the most widespread parasitic infections in humans with over 1.3 billion people worldwide affected. It occurs where sanitation and hygiene standards are low. Toxocariasis is another infection. This is caused by parasites that live in the intestines of dogs and cats. So, how do we diagnose these roundworm infections? Well, we do so on the basis of stool, blood tests, maybe x-ray, ultrasound, and sometimes even we need to make an endoscopic procedure or gastroscopy to identify worms in the digestive tract. The treatment is with special drugs against these worms and it usually will clear the infection completely but of course it doesn't prevent reinfection. In some cases, however, treatments need to be made endoscopically or even a surgical procedure may be needed to get rid of the parasite. What can you do to prevent these infections? Well, the best thing is to have good hygiene and sanitation and to be careful when you're handling animals. It's also important to avoid raw or improperly prepared fish or squid. If you have any pets, do make sure that you have them regularly treated for worm infections.

Roundworms Health Video

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