Ascaris: The Giant Roundworm

Ascariasis is the infection of Ascaris lumbricoides. Ascaris lumbricoides is the human form of the parasite, while ascaris suum is the pig form. Ascaris lumbricoides are the most common worm infection found in humans, this is because with 200,000 eggs that are being made and excreted each day, that the chances of infection are exponential. Ascariasis is also known as the Giant roundworm. The Giant roundworm can grow up to 35 cm or 13.7795 inches. This worm may not seem very harmful but the cycle of life never ends, more than 100 million people become infected, this greatly increasing the chance of more people becoming infected.
The symptoms in the beginning of being infected are not noticeable, more symptoms are brought to mind the longer
Then person swallows the eggs, either in drinking the water or foods from the infected ground. After this, the eggs are moved down the esophagus into the intestine, where they hatch into larvae the larvae get into the bloodstream and into the lungs. After a period of maturation, the roundworms leave the lungs and travel up the esophagus, either being coughed up, or pushed back into the intestine. The larva that are swallowed are then returned to the small intestine where they mature into adults, and mate. With both male and female worms, up to 200,000 eggs are laid per day for a whole year. Eggs are excreted into the soil where they become infectious after two weeks in the soil. The eggs can live in the soil for up to ten years before dying. This is where the cycle begins, all over again. Some eggs are excreted through feces, while others hach and return to the lungs. The whole cycle of the worm from hatching to adulthood takes around 2 or 3
The lipid layer is what makes them resistant to acids and alkalis, as well as some other chemicals. This explains why the ascaris lumbricoides are such a resilient parasite.
Adult female worms can grow up to over 12 inches long, and are larger than the males. The males tend to only grow up to 11.8110 inches. Adult ascariasis worms can live up to 1 to 2 years. The infection of ascariasis worms occurs everywhere in the world, but is more common in tropical and subtropical areas where the sanitation and hygiene is poor. It is more common for children to become infected than adults. It is not common for people in the U.S. to become contaminated, but if they do it is most likely in a rural area in the south.
The ascariasis parasite has been around for many years, even dating back to the 2277 BC era. Edward Tyson was the the first to study the parasitic worms in the late 17th century. He called them Lumbricus teres. He believed they reproduced sexually within the intestine, hence the male and the female worm, but he didn’t know how they got into the human body