Hookworms and the species infecting man in Zambia

The rate of hookworm infections, determined by stool examination over a 7-month period, was 16.56% in medical examinees and 19.91% in in-patients in an urban hospital population in Zambia. The egg-load though was low. Culture of ova to the filariform larval stage, examination of adult worms expelled after anthelminthic treatment and collected at autopsy confirmed that the dominant species was Necator americanus. However, we report, perhaps for the first time, the presence of Ancylostoma duodenale in man in Zambia. Such information is important in assessing the clinical significance of hookworm infection in the country and for formulating a rational chemotherapeutic policy. No cases of infection with the 'false' hookworm Ternidens deminutus were identified.