Yonsei Med J.  1964 Dec;5(1):37-47. 10.3349/ymj.1964.5.1.37.

Anemia-Inducing Factor in the Early Stage of Hookworm Infection

• Lee H
• Soh CT

• KMID: 1102391
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3349/ymj.1964.5.1.37

Abstract

Hookworm anemia could start at a very early stage (even 3 days after infection) and that such an anemia was hardly thought to be induced from hemolysis or from dysfunction of bone marrow. Even in an improper host, the hookworm larvae could decrese the blood value hematologically, even though it was temporary. Hookworm larvae produced no anemia-inducing substance which might responsible for the early-stage anemia. The larvae taken from the intestine of the proper host on the 6th day of infection, showed ingestion of blood as in an adult worm even though no teeth had formed yet. The heavy infection group of improper host showed a decrease of circulating red cells on the 3rd day of infection but returned soon to its own normal level in the test with radioactive isotope. X-ray findings showed generalized densities in the lung field that might represent pneumonitis and hemorrhage and histopathological findings of the lungs also revealed hemorrhage in the early stage of hookworm infection in both the proper and the improper host. The decrease of the hematological blood figure in the early stage of hookworm infection is considered to be induced mainly by the blood loss into the damaged tissue, especially in the lungs during larval migration in the case of heavy infection. Then the blood loss is continued by the blood sucking of immature worms in the intestinal canal of the proper host.