communities with poor sanitation were at risk for "neglected tropical diseases, which we ordinarily think of as confined to developing countries." Mejia's colleagues had previously reported that poor U.S. Flooding often carries sewage to their doorways, Mejia says, and drainage pipes can become overwhelmed with rain, flushing waste back into the home.Ĭoncerned about the sanitation situation and its potential health implications, the Alabama Center for Rural Enterprise - a nonprofit organization that helps address poverty in the state - approached Mejia's team. Nearly three quarters of study participants reported that at one point or another, raw sewage had made its way back into their house. What's worse, even homes can become contaminated. The larva, which penetrate the skin, are even smaller. The soil in the area, Mejia adds, also drains poorly, worsening the situation.Īdult hookworms, from a dog. "But Alabama is very hilly and any drizzle of rain causes flooding, so whatever they delivered to the site spreads to the entire area, including their neighbors' area." Rojelio Mejia, a pediatrician and infectious disease specialist at the Baylor College of Medicine who led the hookworm study. The pipe runs from the toilets in their homes and stretches off some 30 feet above ground until it reaches a small ditch. Unable to afford a septic system, residents concoct their own sewer line using PVC piping, the researchers observed. so poor that many residents lack proper sewage systems. Lowndes County, Alabama, is one of the poorest counties in the U.S. for the past couples of decades we thought there was no more local transmission in the U.S." "There has not been any documentation of people being infected in the U.S. David Diemert, a hookworm expert at George Washington University. The study, published this month, found that 19 of 55 individuals tested positive for the worm. Now, a new study has uncovered a community of people infected with hookworm in Alabama.
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