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hookworm disease
infection with hookworms; see necatoriasis and ancylostomiasis. Once fairly common, it is now largely confined to rural or poor areas where modern sanitation is lacking. Larval hookworms
enter the body by burrowing through the skin, usually on the sole of the foot; there may be small eruptions with pus-filled
blisters on the feet. Hookworms then enter blood vessels, pass through the lungs, and eventually make their way to the intestines.
There they attach by hooked teeth to the intestinal wall and suck its host's blood. If large numbers of worms are present,
they can cause considerable loss of blood and severe anemia.
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