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These worms are much smaller than the large roundworm, Ascaris lumbricoides, and the complications of tissue migration and mechanical obstruction so frequently observed with roundworm infestation are less frequent in hookworm infestation. The most significant risk of hookworm infection is anemia secondary to loss of iron (and protein) into the gut.
Hookworms are leading causes of maternal and child morbidity in the developing countries of the tropics and subtropics. In susceptible children hookworms cause intellectual, cognitive and growth retardation; as well as intrauterine growth retardation, prematurity and low birth weight among newborns born to infected mothers. Hookworm infection is rarely fatal, but anemia can be significant in the heavily infected individual.
Animal stubs Roundworms