Strongyloidiasis : Strongyloidiasis is infection with the roundworm Strongyloides stercoralis (S. stercoralis).
Causes
S. stercoralis is a roundworm that is fairly common in warm, moist areas.
People catch the infection when their skin comes in contact with soil contaminated with the worms.
The tiny worm is barely visible to the naked eye. Young roundworms can move through a person's skin and into the bloodstream to the lungs and airways.
They then move up to the throat, where they are swallowed into the stomach. The worms then move to the small intestine, where they attach to the wall. Later, they produce eggs, which hatch into tiny larvae (immature worms) and pass out of the body.
Unlike other worms, these larvae can reenter the body through the skin around the anus, which allows an infection to grow. Areas where the worms go through the skin can become red and painful.
Symptoms
Most of the time, there are no symptoms.
If there are symptoms, they may include:
• Abdominal pain (upper abdomen)
• Cough
• Diarrhea
• Rash
• Red hive-like areas near the anus
• Vomiting
• Weight loss
Treatment
The goal of treatment is to eliminate the worms with anti-worm medications such as ivermectin or albendazole.
Onchocerciasis (River Blindness) : Onchocerciasis is an eye and skin disease caused by a worm (filaria) known scientifically as Onchocerca volvulus. It is transmitted to humans through the bite of a blackfly (simulium species). These flies breed in fast-flowing streams and rivers, increasing the risk of blindness to individuals living nearby, hence the commonly known name of "river blindness". Within the human body, the adult female worm (macrofilaria) produces thousands of baby or larval worms (microfilariae) which migrate in the skin and the eye.
The symptoms and signs of onchocerciasis are as follows:
• Skin inflammation that is very itchy and forms papules on the skin
• Nodules in the skin (subcutaneous nodules)
• Scarred, saggy, or drooping areas of skin
• Patchy skin depigmentation (leopard skin)
• Lymph node inflammation (lymphadenitis)
• Eye (ocular) lesions
• Visual problems (partial or complete blindness)
• Eosinophilia (unusually high levels of eosinophils in the blood)
Medications
• doxycycline, Vibramycin, Oracea, Adoxa, Atridox and Others
• ivermectin - oral, Stromectol