03/09/2024
"Dune" sandworms have nothing on these parasitic worms! Henry, a CDC Division of Parasitic Diseases lab technician, holds a mass of Ascaris worms which were passed by a child in Kenya. Instead of providing the “Water of Life” like the “Dune” sandworms, parasitic intestinal worms can cause abdominal pain, diarrhea, and slowed growth in children.
Ascaris, along with whipworm and hookworm, are soil-transmitted intestinal worms that infect more than 1.5 billion people worldwide in warm, moist climates including tropical Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, and the Americas.
