About Worms

Other Worm types

There are other types of worm that are rarely encountered in developed countries because more effective methods of sanitation and unsuitable climate greatly reduced the risk of infection. They are more common in regions with tropical or sub-tropical climates. These worms tend to have more severe health repercussions than the threadworm. The best course of action regarding these infections is to prevent them occurring by observing fundamental standards of sanitation and personal hygiene.

The collective term for this group of invertebrate organisms is nematodes, or roundworms. They are also known as geohelminths because they are all worms that spend part of their life cycle in the soil. The term roundworm obviously describes their long, non-segmented, round bodies. It can be confusing to refer to this entire group as roundworms because what is commonly called the roundworm, Ascaris lumbricoides, is also a member of this group. Either the worms themselves or their eggs enter their human host via the faecal-oral route or by penetrating the skin. Most mature roundworms end up residing in the intestines and can create a variety of health complications in their host.