Epidemiology and Public Health Considerations of Hookworm Infection

Background: Hookworm infection remains a major neglected tropical disease, particularly in lowincome tropical and subtropical regions. Caused mainly by Ancylostoma duodenale and Necator americanus, it contributes significantly to irondeficiency anemia, malnutrition, and impaired physical and cognitive development, especially among children and pregnant women. Aim: This article aims to review the epidemiology, pathophysiology, clinical manifestations, evaluation, and management of hookworm infection, emphasizing public health implications and preventive strategies. Methods: A narrative review approach was employed, synthesizing current clinical, epidemiological, and public health evidence related to hookworm infection, including diagnostic methods, pharmacologic treatments, and preventive interventions. Results: Globally, hookworm infects approximately 470 million individuals, with disease burden closely linked to poverty, poor sanitation, and barefoot soil exposure. Chronic intestinal blood loss leads to anemia and protein malnutrition. Diagnosis primarily relies on stool microscopy, supported by eosinophilia and epidemiological risk factors. Albendazole remains the most effective treatment, though reinfection is common. Integrated strategies combining deworming, nutritional support, sanitation, and health education are essential. Conclusion: Hookworm infection continues to pose substantial clinical and public health challenges. Sustainable control requires coordinated medical, preventive, and socioeconomic interventions.

• Publication year

  2025

• Venue

  Saudi Journal of Medicine and Public Health

• Publication date

  2025-12-31

• Fields of study

  Not labeled

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.64483/202522504
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

• Hookworm infection.

  2020influential reference
• Gastrointestinal bleeding in the tropics: Look for the hookworm

  2017cited by this paper
• Epidemiology and clinical features of soil-transmitted helminths

  2017cited by this paper
• Hookworm: a neglected resurgent infection

  2017cited by this paper
• Automatic Hookworm Detection in Wireless Capsule Endoscopy Images

  2016cited by this paper
• Efficacy and reinfection with soil-transmitted helminths 18-weeks post-treatment with albendazole-ivermectin, albendazole-mebendazole, albendazole-oxantel pamoate and mebendazole

  2016influential reference
• Advancing a vaccine to prevent hookworm disease and anemia.

  2016influential reference
• Health-education package to prevent worm infections in Chinese schoolchildren.

  2013cited by this paper
• Hookworm virulence factors: making the most of the host.

  2012cited by this paper
• Molecular mechanisms of hookworm disease: stealth, virulence, and vaccines.

  2012cited by this paper
• Incidence and risk factors of hookworm infection in a rural community of central Thailand.

  2011cited by this paper
• Efficacy of current drugs against soil-transmitted helminth infections: systematic review and meta-analysis.

  2008cited by this paper
• Hookworm-Related Anaemia among Pregnant Women: A Systematic Review

  2008cited by this paper
• Soil-transmitted helminth infections.

  2006influential reference
• Human hookworm infection in the 21st century.

  2004influential reference
• Effects on haemoglobin of multi-micronutrient supplementation and multi-helminth chemotherapy: a randomized, controlled trial in Kenyan school children

  2003cited by this paper
• Immune Responses in Hookworm Infections

  2001cited by this paper

• No citing papers are available for this paper.