Over 30% of the Cambodian population is infected with threadworms. (Photo: Virak Khieu)
Strongyloides stercoralis is a soil-transmitted threadworm that is endemic in many tropical and subtropical countries. In a nation-wide study in Cambodia, Swiss TPH scientists and their partners found that nearly a third of the population is infected with S. stercoralis. The results were published today in the peer-reviewed journal PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases. S. stercoralis is transmitted through infected larvae in the soil and, like hookworms, infects humans through the skin. The worm can cause long-lasting and potentially fatal infections in people. Larvae are not detected by standard field diagnostics, so S. stercoralis has been under-detected and overlooked for decades. The parasitic worm is also not tackled by common mass deworming efforts.
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