[Biology Class Notes] on Hookworm Life Cycle Pdf for EXAM

Hookworm 

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To explain what hookworm is, it can be said that hookworm is parasites that are blood-sucking and dwell in the small intestine of the human digestive system and cause contamination called helminthiasis. Hookworm falls under the class Secernentea and the request Strongylida. A grown-up hookworm matches 11 mm in size. Study shows that A. Ceylanicum is an indispensable parasite contaminating people in specific parts of the world. The human hookworms generally incorporate Ancylostoma duodenale and Necator americanus. Hookworm disease has infected around 740 million individuals around the world. It influences the human lungs, skin and small digestive tract. Wild cats are contaminated by Ancylostoma pluridentatum.

Hookworm Life Cycle 

To explain briefly about the hookworm life cycle, the host is contaminated by the larvae, not by the eggs and the standard route is through the skin. Hookworm larvae need warm, wet soil, over 18 °C to incubate. If exposed directly to the sunlight, they will be dried out, and further will die. Necator larvae can grow at higher temperatures than Ancylostoma larvae.

The following three stages can explain the hookworm life cycle:

1. Stage 1 – The Egg

In the first stage of the Hookworm life cycle, in the small intestine system of the host, the female hookworm stores eggs. The eggs contain two to eight portioned embryos that are dropped into the soil using a human stool. It takes around 24 to 48 hours to change into a larva and enter the following stage. 

2. Stage 2 – The Larvae

In the second stage of the Hookworm life cycle, under excellent conditions, the larvae are brought forth in 1 or 2 days. The larvae develop in defecation or the dirt. During this time, the larvae aren’t infective, however, to get infective, takes around two molts. The timeframe for two shedding takes around 5 to 10 days, after which the larvae are infective. The worms upon human contact infiltrate through human feet, move through veins to the heart and afterwards to the lungs. Here, they enter through respiratory or pulmonary alveoli, climb the bronchial tree to the pharynx, and are then gulped where it arrives at the digestive tract. 

3. Stage 3 – The Adult

In the third stage of the Hookworm life cycle, Jejunum is the piece of the small digestive tract that is answerable for engrossing all the supplements, unsaturated fats and amino acids. The larvae relocate to the jejunum part of the small digestive tract, where the larvae explicitly develop and change into grown-up hookworms. Grown-up hookworms live in the lumen of the small intestine, where they connect to the dividers causing blood loss in the host. Hookworm life cycle and its life expectancy are 1 to 2 years.

Hookworm Scientific Name 

The Hookworm scientific name is Ancylostoma duodenale which is a species of the roundworm genus Ancylostoma. It is also commonly known as Old World hookworm which is a parasitic nematode worm. A. duodenale (hookworm scientific name) is a small, greyish-white cylindrical worm.

 

Characteristics Of Hookworm 

The two primary species that contaminate people share a comparative morphology. A. duodenale (hookworm scientific name) worms are pale dark or slightly pink. The head is twisted a little corresponding to the remaining body, framing a hook shape – henceforth the name. At the front end of the body, the hook can be found. Hookworm has all-around created mouths with two sets of teeth. Males measure around one centimetre by 0.5 millimetres, and females are regularly longer and stouter. Males additionally have an unmistakable copulatory bursa posteriorly.

N. americanus is commonly smaller than A. duodenale (hookworm scientific name) with males generally 5 to 9 mm long and females around 1 cm long. Rather than the two sets of teeth in A. duodenale, N. americanus has a couple of cutting plates in the buccal case. Additionally, the hook is substantially more characterized in Necator americanus.

Solved Questions 

1. What is the main difference between Hookworms and Strongyloides stercoralis?

The hookworm has an enormous buccal case whose edge is outfitted with teeth at the ventral side; its first furthest point is bent dorsally, size 10-16mm, mandatory parasite.

The strongyloides stercoralis have a straight front end, size 2-3mm, facultative parasite.

Fun Facts 

• No matter wherever animals live, they get hookworms because of drinking from questionable water sources and eating animals which also might be infected.

• Hookworms grow strong because they feed on blood which can be a human as well as animal hosts, but hosts are unlucky because they develop symptoms like anaemia, feeling restless, listless etc.

• A female hookworm can produce up to 30,000 eggs per day.