The role of pigs as transport hosts of the human helminths Oesophagostomumbifurcum and Necator americanus

We conducted a study in an endemic area of both Oesophagostomum bifurcum an d Necator americanus in northern Ghana to examine the possibility of pigs a cting as transport hosts for these two human helminth species, due to the c ommonly observed coprophagic habits of pigs. Under controlled conditions fo ur parasite-free pigs consumed fresh faeces from people heavily infected wi th both helminths, and faeces were subsequently collected from the rectum o f the pigs from 5 to 50 h post-feeding. Four to five per cent of the O. bif urcum and N. americanus eggs fed to the pigs were viable and retrieved as t hird-stage larvae after coproculture of the pigs' faeces. We discuss the po ssible impact of the coprophagic habits of pigs as potential parasite trans port hosts during different seasons in this area of West Africa. (C) 2000 E lsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.