Hookworm is an intestinal parasite of humans that usually causes mild diarrhea or cramps. Heavy infection with hookworm can create serious health problems for newborns, children, pregnant women, and persons who are malnourished. The Rockefeller Sanitary Commission was founded in response, and hookworm infection has been largely controlled. You can become infected by direct contact with contaminated soil, generally through walking barefoot, or accidentally swallowing contaminated soil.
Hookworms have a complex life cycle that begins and ends in the small intestine.
Hookworm eggs require warm, moist, shaded soil to hatch into larvae. This journey takes about a week. The adult worms produce thousands of eggs. If the eggs contaminate soil and conditions are right, they will hatch, molt, and develop into infective larvae again after 5 to 10 days. People who have direct contact with soil that contains human feces in areas where hookworm is common are at high risk of infection.