Title: Ascaris Parasitic Worms: Phylum & Classification - Biology Class [2021] | Study.com
Headings: Ascaris Parasitic Worms: Phylum & Classification
Ascaris Parasitic Worms: Phylum & Classification
Ascaris Parasitic Worms
Classification in Phylum Nematoda
Parasitic Action of Ascaris Worms
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Content: Then she relies on the unwitting host to generously disperse her eggs through excrement, which she hopes will infect a new host. Adult Ascaris worms can reach lengths of up to 14 inches in length and their eggs can survive up to 10 years in the soil. It's thought that Ascaris currently infect somewhere between 1-2 billion people worldwide, with the greatest population residing in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and Asia. Ascaris lumbricoides

Ascariasis Infection
Ascaris infection is referred to as ascariasis. Very few individuals are asymptomatic (without symptoms), and most experience anything from bowel distention (enlargement), passing worms and/or eggs in stool, fever, nausea, weight loss, intestinal ulcers (as young ascaris burrow into the intestinal walls), vomiting worms and/ or coughing (as young Ascaris make their way into the lungs during early development), as well as secondary effects such as tissue damage from coughing and blood disorders symptomatic of parasitic infections, such as eosinophilia. Ascariasis is treated with anti-parasite medications, resulting in the host passing the ascaris worms naturally, while some advanced cases might require surgery. One such advanced case, which was diagnosed posthumously (after death), was a young child who had 796 Ascaris lumbricoides worms weighting a total of 19 oz encased within her intestines. Prevention of ascariasis includes the ever important washing of hands as well as increased sanitation, whether that be properly functioning toilets or active and proper disposal of human waste as well as the termination of human feces as a fertilizing agent. Lesson Summary
Ascaris worms are a genus of helminths (parasitic worms), meaning that they live off of a host organism, to the detriment of that host. The two most common species are Ascaris suum and Ascaris lumbricoides.