El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-01-20

ANN W1lnln the ldSI QeCdQS sue
Ava ceeded in Identifying and cias-
styling human parasite which for
an unknown period in the past has
been responsible for a variety of dis
orders, called by various names, such
as ground itch, foot itch, toe itch, dew
itch, dew poison and certain forms OF
anemia. 1t has ben appropriately
named "hookworm.'
There are many different species OF
hookworm preying on animals, such as
dogs, sheep, hogs, seals and cattle The
form of the tiny scOurge which is Pc
culiar to mankind does not exist In
animals, nor does the animal hook
worm develop in the human body. OF
those infesting mankind two distinct
species are known, one peculiar to the
old world, the other to the new, and
the vast majority of cases of hookworm
disease occurring in the United States
are due to the new world hookWorm
Is a Slender Worm.
The parasite is a slender worm half
an inch long, its body no thicker than
medium sized needle. In it's adult
stage the parasite lives in the small
intestine, especially in the upper half,
and occasionally in the stomach. L
attaches itself to the Intestinal wall,
wounds the mucous coat, sucks the
O4OOO, cats Tie CpAlAClluill,
ually exudes or produces a poisonous
substance which Injuries the person
who unwillingly is it's host.
In 1882 Goeze, a German clergyman
and zoologist, found a small hair-like
parasite in the intestine of a badger he
was dissecting, which he called der
harrundwurm' THE hair-round worm
Seven years later Froelich, another
German zoologist, found a similar para
site in the intestine of a fox. Observ-
ing the hooks spoken Of by Goeze,
Froelich adopted the vernacular word
haakenwurm (hookworm), and gave
the generic name Uncinaria to the
genus he established. Thus the para
site got it's name. \As matter of fact
the hooks" are not hooks at all. How
ever, the name chung for two other
reasons The head Of the worm bends
conspicuously backward. making a
hook of the worm itself, and within
the mouth cavity Of the European spe-
cies lie four sharp, chikinous teeth,
which hook" themselves into the It's
sues of the victim
Hookworms enter the body in the
through the skin or by being swa1-
lowed This gives rise to two recog-
nized stages in the disease, namely
cutaneous hookworm and intestinal
hookworm. The former is known
! throughout our southern states by the
various popular names already quoted,
and the custom among certain classes
of people of going barefoot is I'M
doubtedly a primary cause of infec-
ton.
Makes Tour of Body.
Once having obtained Judgment un-
der the skin of persons who go bare
foot or who handle infected dirt, the
worm bores its way into the pores and
escapes from its surrounding sheath
like skin. It then starts on its pas
sage through the body. 1t may en-
ter the blood. pass through the heart.
! filter through the lungs, crawl up the
! trachea, down they esophagus, through
the stomach, and find its way to the
small intestine The latter goal is
! reached in from eight to IA days after
skin infection. When the Intestine Is
reached, the worm sheds its skin two
or three times, becomes adult, mates,
and lays innUmerable eggs, which in
time grow UP to prey upon the unfor-
| tunate victim in a new cycle Of life.
| In the second mode of infection the
| larvae may be swallowed with uQclean
| or infected food Here it shoHd be
noted that the person afflicted with
| hookwOrms is walking menace to al
| his kind. The adult worms are eyacu-
ated, polluting the soil where sanitary
| precautions are lacking, as is so fire.
| quent in certain of the southern states
, and thus an endless chain of infection
| is established.
Attacks Children Principally.
The hookworm disease is peculiar
to tropical and subtrOpical climates, tC