Ancylostomiasis historical perspective

Ancylostomiasis was first discovered by Dubini, an Italian physician, in 1838 who provided the first detailed description of hookworms during an autopsy on a woman who had died in Milan. Necator americanus and Ancylostoma duodenale were responsible for all human hookworm infections mentioned by Bethony et al ( 2006), de Silva et al.(2003), however Bradbury & Traub (2016) and Traub et al. (2008) mentioned Ancylostoma ceylanicum is also an important hookworm of humans, especially in Southeast Asia.

• Ancylostomiasis was first discovered by Dubini, an Italian physician, in 1838 who provided the first detailed description of hookworms during an autopsy on a woman who had died in Milan.^[1]

• Necator americanus and Ancylostoma duodenale were responsible for all human hookworm infections mentioned by Bethony et al ( 2006), de Silva et al.(2003), however Bradbury & Traub (2016) and Traub et al. (2008) mentioned Ancylostoma ceylanicum is also an important hookworm of humans, especially in Southeast Asia.^[2]

The following are a few famous cases of ancylostomiasis:

• In 1880, the anemia first appeared in Italy when the Saint Gothard railway tunnel was being bored. The epidemic of ancylostomiasis to which so many of the workmen fell victim and several workers died. This led to major advances in parasitology by research into the etiology, epidemiology, and treatment of ancylostomiasis. ^[3]

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