Scientists at UMass Medical School in Worcester, Mass., and Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., have sequenced the genome of a hookworm that has been known to infect humans. The findings may help create new drugs and vaccines.
Hookworms cause infections in as many as 400 million people worldwide, making the debilitating tropical diseases they cause second only to malaria in causing maternal and childhood morbidity in developing countries.
Co-author of the study Raffi V. Aroian, PhD, underscored the importance of the study findings to creating a treatment for hookworms.
"The only drugs we have to combat these parasites were developed to treat farm animals and are only partially effective," said Dr. Aroian. "There is a tremendous need for a treatment for hookworms in humans that is safe, effective and affordable in the world's poorest countries."
By isolating and sequencing the DNA and RNA from hookworms, the researchers may be able to begin designing and testing treatments and vaccines that can benefit millions of people.
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