Infective hookworm larvae are acquired from soil that has been contaminated with feces from infected dogs or cats. The other hookworms tend to cause shorter lesions.
Systemic eosinophilia is less common than with visceral larva migrans.
The lesions generally regress spontaneously, but can be treated successfully with thiabendazole, albendazole or ivermectin. Ulceration of the terminal ileum and colon occurs, along with an eosinophilic inflammatory response. Interestingly, patients generally do NOT have premonitory cutaneous larva migrans lesions. This is a potentially serious disease associated with systemic migration of the larvae of the roundworms common to dogs and cats. There are also reports of VLM associated with Ascaris suum from pigs.