There are four species of intestinal helminthic parasites, also known as geohelminths and soil-transmitted helminths: Ascaris lumbricoides (roundworm), Trichiuris trichiuria (whipworm), Ancylostoma duodenale, and Necator americanicus (hookworms).
How many types of intestinal parasites are there?
In humans, there are two intestinal parasite types: Helminths, which are large organisms you can see with the naked eye. There are nearly 50,000 different helminth species including flatworms and roundworms. Flatworms include flukes and tapeworms.
How many parasites are there?
The best recent estimates suggest that there are ≈6 million species. More emphasis has been placed on counts of free-living species than on parasitic species. We rectify this by quantifying the numbers and proportion of parasitic species.
Do we all have intestinal parasites?
It is estimated that around 80% of both adults and children have parasites in their gut. People can be infected with these parasites in a number of ways. The most common route is through the faecal oral route.
How many humans have intestinal parasites?
As a 2016 study notes, over 3.5 billion people around the world have an intestinal parasite infection. The vast majority of these infections occur in developing countries where sanitation is poor.
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