Despite the substantial technological progress made in the field of parasite diagnostics, our knowledge on the epidemiology and population-level morbidity impacts of the canine and feline zoonotic soil transmitted helminths (STH) in humans has remained relatively stagnant over the last few decades, with ‘covert’ infections continuing to remain undetected by currently available forms of routine diagnostics. This is particularly true for the canine and feline hookworms.
No research has followed the landmark discovery implicating Ancylostoma caninum as an etiological agent of human eosinophilic enteritis during the early 1990s. Given the endemic nature of this canine hookworm, it remains highly likely that human cases are grossly underdiagnosed in many regions of the tropics and subtropics owing to the challenging nature of its diagnosis. More recently, the occurrence of patent A. caninum infections in humans has been inferred in parts of Asia and Africa, however these findings remain contentious.
Over the last 15 years, Ancylostoma ceylanicum has emerged as the second most common hookworm infecting humans in the Asia Pacific. Despite growing case reports describing the ability of this hookworm to cause severe abdominal pain, weight loss, diarrhea, vomiting, melena, anaemia and hypereosinophilia, no population-level morbidity data exists for humans. Initially presumed to be confined to the Asia Pacific, A. ceylanicum has now been detected in humans and animals in parts of Africa as well as Central America and the Caribbean.
High-throughput species-specific realtime PCR assays have also proved valuable in informing the emerging distribution of A. braziliense, the agent of ‘creeping eruptions’, in areas where this zoonosis was previously believed to be absent, for example in the Pacific Islands and parts of Africa.
As the World Health Organisation’s newly launched 2030 RoadMap to accelerate the end of morbidity associated with Neglected Tropical Diseases ensues, quantitation of the population-level morbidity association with these zoonotic canine and felines STHs becomes increasingly important to effectively advocate for a ‘One Health’ approach for their control.