Strongyloidiasis Research Paper

Strongyloidiasis is an intestinal infection caused by two species of the parasitic nematode. The most common and clinically important pathogenic species in humans is stercoralis . Fuelleborni is found in Africa and Papua New Guinea. Distinctive characteristics of this parasite are its ability to persist and replicate within a host for decades while producing minimal or no symptoms (individuals with an intact immune system) and its potential to cause life-threatening infection (hyperinfection syndrome, disseminated strongyloidiasis) in an immunocompromised host (60-85% mortality rate).
The symptoms related to strongyloidiasis may reflect the nematode's systemic passage, its local cutaneous involvement, or both. During chronic uncomplicated infections, the larvae may migrate to the skin, where they can cause cutaneous strongyloidiasis, known as larva currens because of the quick migratory rate of the larva. Infection is clinically characterized by watery diarrhea, abdominal cramping, and urticarial rash. In malnourished children, strongyloidiasis remains an important cause of chronic diarrhea, cachexia, and failure to thrive. Strongyloidiasis is caused by the …show more content…
The females live threaded in the epithelium of the small intestine and produce eggs, which yield rhabditiform larvae, which can either be passed in the stool or can cause autoinfection.In autoinfection, the larvae become infective filariform larvae, which can penetrate either the intestinal mucosa or the skin of the perianal area. In either case, the filariform larvae travel via the blood stream to the lungs, through the bronchial tree, the pharynx and then the small intestine where they mature into adults, or they may disseminate widely in the body.Autoinfection may explain the persistence of infections for many years in people who have not been in an endemic area and hyperinfections in immunodepressed