Direct transfer of adult hookworms (Ancylostoma duodenale) from dog to child for therapeutic purposes.
To induce chronic and continuous intestinal blood loss as therapy for congenital polycythemia in a 3 year old child, adult Ancylostoma duodenale were transferred directly from a dog to the patient via a nasoduodenal tube. By transferring adult worms, larval migration via the skin, blood and lungs--with possible attendant undesired side effects--was avoided. Furthermore, by eliminating larval migration with associated intimate tissue contact, immunogenicity was presumably reduced, and a known number of adult worms could be delivered directly to the final predilection site, the small intestine. An eosinophilic reaction of up to 23,000 cells/mm3 was observed, which may have adversely affected attempted superinfection. The relatively small numbers of parasites given on three separate occasions did not result in blood loss to a degree sufficient to eliminate the need for other forms of therapy.
D000724:Ancylostomiasis / Q000150:complications; D000818:Animals; D001815:Bloodletting; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004285:Dogs; D004802:Eosinophilia / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006400:Hematocrit; D006801:Humans; D010270:Parasite Egg Count; D011086:Polycythemia / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy*