Question

List the symptoms of Ascariasis. How does a healthy person acquire this infection?

Answer 1

Ascariasis is a kind of infection of the roundworm in intestines. In contaminated food, water, or soil its eggs are present and get it when an individual comes into contact with the worm’s eggs. It does not spread from person to person.

Complete answer:
First we should know about Ascariasis to answer this question. The largest parasitic roundworm infecting humans in the world is Ascaris lumbricoides. It is also the commonest worm parasite in humans. Pigs are affected by Ascaris Suum, but it infects humans less often. A. Lumbricoides can infect pigs as well. Ascariasis occurs where there is poor nutrition and sanitation, it often occurs in slum areas. The mode of transmission is faecal-oral. It tends to occur in warm, humid regions of the world, like the tropics, as well as wet, warm periods in temperate regions.

Eggs in contaminated food or water are swallowed by people. Eggs hatch in the intestine into tiny larvae. The larvae dig down into the intestines and travel to the lungs through the blood. They burrow out into the airways after maturing in around 10-14 days, where individuals cough up the larvae and then consume them. They grow into adults once the larvae enter the small intestine. The adult worms of Ascaris live in humans' small intestines, where they breed and lay eggs that move through the faeces. The eggs, and the loop continues, move through the environment. Depending on warmth and moisture, eggs become infectious after about 3 weeks or more in the soil and can remain infectious for years. Up to 200,000 eggs can be laid every day by one adult female. About the moment people swallow the eggs to the time they start laying eggs, it takes two to three months. Adult worms can live and grow as long as 12 inches for up to two years.

A moderate infection will not cause any significant signs in some cases. Often, you will get a number of symptoms if the infection is more severe. In the lungs and intestines, you are more likely to have symptoms of Ascariasis.
In lungs, roundworms will cause:

A cough that is not going to end
Breathing issues or shortness of breath
Wheezing

In intestine, roundworms will cause:

Pain in the stomach
Nausea
Blood or diarrhoea in faeces
Fatigue
Vomiting
The loss of weight

Note: Nematode or helminths worms are also referred to as the Ascaris roundworm. Ascariasis is usually a small bowel intestinal infection. The adult worms can reach approximately 12 inches in length and attain such high numbers that in extreme cases, they cause blockage of the intestine or biliary ducts. In children, this most commonly happens and can be life-threatening.