Human enterobiasis in evolution: Origin, specificity and transmission

The co-evolutionary pathway seems to be the most plausible hypothesis for t he explanation of the origin of human pinworms. Of the two modes of transmi ssion of oxyurids among humans which have been documented, the direct oral/ anal route is also observed in other Primates and seems to have been favour ed by selection. As indirect air-borne transmission has also been shown for human enterobiasis, the question of "How this alternative to the standard transmission method could have arisen" is examined. The results of comparat ive studies of prevalence of Enterobius in human coprolites, in villages of Neolithic age of the arid west of North America, show that a higher preval ence of pinworms is correlated with the lower total amount of air-exchange in caves relative to other structures. The air-borne route of transmission of pinworms among humans is interpreted as an innovation in the human/Enter obius pair. This mode of transfer could have been favoured during the time when humans changed their behaviour from a hunting-gathering to a more sede ntary existence, initially associated with cove habitats.