Table 1.
Overview of the most common human pathogenic helminths.
| Organism | Number of people infected (in millions) |
Disease pathology |
|---|---|---|
| Nematoda | ||
|
| ||
| Ascaris lumbricoides | 807–1121 | Impaired digestion, anemia, iron deficiency, poor growth, cough, fever, abdominal discomfort, and passing of worms |
| Trichuris trichiura | 795–1050 | |
| Necator americanus | 740–1300 | |
| Ancylostoma duodenale | ||
| Strongyloides stercoralis | 30–100 | |
|
| ||
| Wuchereria bancrofti, Brugia malayi, Brugia timori | 120 | Chronic lymphoedema, elephantiasis of limbs, and hydrocele |
|
| ||
| Onchocerca volvulus | 37 | Dermal pathology characterized by pruritus, altered pigmentation, atrophy, and lymphadenitis. Ocular lesions leading to sclerosing keratitis, chorioretinitis, optic nerve disease, and blindness |
|
| ||
| Schistosoma mansoni, Schistosoma haematobium, Schistosoma japonicum | 207 | Intestinal schistosomiasis characterized by abdominal pain, diarrhoea, and liver enlargement |
|
| ||
| Trematoda | ||
|
| ||
| Fasciola hepatica, Fasciola gigantica | 2.4–17 | Fascioliasis characterized by fever, abdominal pains, and hepatomegaly |
|
| ||
| Paragonimus spp. | 23 | Chronic cough, chest pain with dyspnoea, and fever |
|
| ||
| Opisthorchis viverrini | 10 | Palpable liver, obstructive jaundice, cirrhosis, and cholangitis |
|
| ||
| Clonorchis sinensis | 15.3 | Clonorchiasis characterized by fever and colic pain |
|
| ||
| Cestoda | ||
|
| ||
| Taenia solium, Taenia saginata | Not determined | Cysticercosis characterized by infection of the central nervous system |
| Echinococcus multilocularis, Echinococcus granulosus | Alveolar echinococcosis and cystic echinococcosis | |
Modified according to Perbandt et al. 2014 [7] and CDC report 2013.