View source for Ancylostomatidae

{{Short description|Family of roundworms}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| image = Parasite140080-fig3 Gastrointestinal parasites in seven primates of the Taï National Park - Helminths Figure 3d.jpg
| image_caption = Egg of ''Ancylostoma'' sp.
| taxon = Ancylostomatidae
| authority =
}}

The '''Ancylostomatidae''' are a [[Family (biology)|family]] of worms that includes the [[hookworm]]s.

== Genera of Ancylostomatidae ==
* ''[[Agriostomum]]''
* ''[[Ancylostoma]]''
* ''[[Bunostomum]]''
* ''[[Cyclodontostomum]]''
* ''[[Galonchus]]''
* ''[[Monodontus]]''
* ''[[Necator (nematode)|Necator]]''
* ''[[Uncinaria]]''

==Habit==
The hookworms, ''Ancylostoma'' and ''Necator'', draw a plug of intestinal mucosa into their buccal capsule. The tissue is broken down and blood is rapidly pumped through the intestine of the nematode so that most of it goes undigested.<ref>{{cite book |first=David A. |last=Wharton |title=A Functional Biology of Nematodes |publisher=Springer |doi=10.1007/978-1-4615-8516-9 |year=1986 |isbn=978-1-4615-8516-9 |pages= |series=Functional Biology}}</ref>
<ref>{{cite journal |last=Seguel |first=M. |last2=Gottdenker |first2=N. |title=The diversity and impact of hookworm infections in wildlife |journal=Int J Parasitol Parasites Wildl |volume=6 |issue=3 |pages=177–194 |year=2017 |doi=10.1016/j.ijppaw.2017.03.007 |pmid=28765810 |pmc=5526439}}</ref>

==Lifecycle==
The hookworms, ''Necator americanus'' and ''Ancylostoma duodenale'', hatch as first-stage juveniles within the soil and develop to an infective third-stage juvenile. Infection occurs by direct penetration through the skin of the host. Although the two species differ, they are both susceptible to environmental hazards such as desiccation.<ref>{{cite journal |first=K.E. |last=Hoagland |first2=G.A. |last2=Schad |title=''Necator americanus'' and ''Ancylostoma duodenale'': Life history parameters and epidemiological implications of two sympatric hookworms of humans |journal=Experimental Parasitology |volume=44 |issue=1 |pages=36–49 |year=1978 |doi=10.1016/0014-4894(78)90078-4  |pmid=627275}}</ref> This limits their distribution to warm, wet climates such as the tropics. The third-stage juvenile is also the infective stage of trichostrongyle nematodes, including those infecting sheep and cattle. Both the first-stage juvenile within the egg and the
ensheathed infective juvenile are resistant to desiccation, chemicals, and low temperatures<ref>{{cite journal |first=D.A. |last=Wharton |title=The survival of desiccation by the free-living stages of ''Trichostrongylus colubriformis'' (Nematoda: Trichostrongylidae) |journal=Parasitology |volume=84 |issue=3 |pages=455–62 |year=1982 |doi=10.1017/s0031182000052756 |pmid=7201628 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Wharton |first=D.A. |last2=Young |first2=S.R. |last3=Barrett |first3=J. |title=Cold tolerance in nematodes |journal=J Comp Physiol B |volume=154 |issue= |pages=73–77 |year=1984 |doi=10.1007/BF00683218 }}</ref> and the infective juvenile can survive on pasture for several months before infecting a host.

==Control==
The most appropriate control measures for hookworms and ascariasis are to concentrate chemotherapy on heavily infected individuals (taking advantage of overdispersion) and to improve sanitation to reduce the rate of transmission.<ref>{{harvnb|Wharton|1986}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

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[[Category:Ancylostomatidae| ]]
[[Category:Nematode families]]


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