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Hookworm infections and human iron metabolism

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 April 2009

D. W. T. Crompton  and
R. R. Whitehead
D. W. T. Crompton
Affiliation:
WHO Collaborating Centre for Soil-transmitted Helminthiases, Department of Zoology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, Scotland, UK
R. R. Whitehead
Affiliation:
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, Scotland, UK
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Summary

Ancylostoma duodenale and Necator americanus are extremely common species of soil-transmitted helminth which flourish where poverty and malnutrition prevail. Hookworms contribute significantly to iron-deficiency anaemia, which remains one of the world's major nutritional problems, through the feeding activities of intestinal stages leading to chronic blood loss into the gut. In this article, a mathematical model is proposed to explain how human iron metabolism may respond to hookworm infection of varying intensity. The model draws attention to the importance of the regulation of stored iron levels in the process. The results from the model are presented for the effects of hookworm infection on the iron metabolism of a healthy adult male. Calculations are also presented in which the effects of hookworms on the iron metabolism of a non-pregnant woman are compared with those of a pregnant woman. Use of the model may help develop a better understanding of the pathology of hookworm disease.

Keywords

Hookworm diseaseiron-deficiency anaemiapregnancymathematical model
Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 107 , supplement S1: Human nutrition and parasitic infection , January 1993 , pp. S137 - S145
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1993

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