Central Africa: a four-year-old boy found the stomach full of worms: news

"Packs" of big worms were found in the stomach of a four year old boy.

The boy, who lived in the north-west of the Republic of Cameroon in central Africa, had been suffering from stomach pain and vomiting for three days and was severely constipated. Journal of Medical Cases reported.

Her family told the doctors that her stomach had begun to distend six months ago.

During his examination, the doctors thought of a small bowel obstruction, which prompted them to make a cut of 2 cm. Surgeons then removed the "batches of Ascaris lumbricoides towards "manually and" by milking them through the stoma (the 2cm cut into his stomach). "

Ascaris lumbricoides, which is the big round worm, can reach 35 cm long.

It is estimated that 807 million to 1.2 billion people worldwide are infected with the virus. Ascaris lumbricoides to (sometimes called simply Ascaris or Ascariasis), according to the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

"Roundworms, hookworms and badworms are parasitic worms known as soil-transmitted helminths (STH). Together, they represent a major burden of parasitic diseases worldwide, "says the CDC.

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The parasites live in the intestine and the eggs pbad into the feces of infected people. If an infected person defecates on the outside or if his faeces are used as fertilizer, eggs are deposited on the ground. The eggs can then mature to become an infectious parasite.

The infection can occur when contaminated hands or fingers are put in the mouth or by eating vegetables or fruits that have not been cooked, washed or peeled with care, according to the CDC.

Heavy infections cause intestinal blockage and can affect the growth of children. All symptoms can come in the form of a cough due to the migration of worms through the body. It can be treated with drugs, but in the case of the boy, the surgeons decided to operate.

After the operation, the doctors dewormed the boy and his family members with an oral dose of mebendazole. He was released seven days later. A week later, the surgeons found that his wounds were healed.

Ascariasis most often affects people living in hot, humid tropical regions, but few countries in the world are exempt. In 1979, it was estimated that between 800 and 1 billion people were infected with Ascaris, which ranked it third among the top ten most common human infections.

It is particularly prevalent throughout Asia, including China, India, Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia, the Philippines, Japan, Russia, Afghanistan, and Iran. It is also widespread throughout Africa and Egypt.