[Imported hookworm infection in Almeria].

OBJECTIVE

To study the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of immigrant patients diagnosed with a hookworm infection in the Tropical Medicine Unit of the Hospital de Poniente in El Ejido (Almería, Spain).

METHODS

A retrospective observational study of all immigrant patients diagnosed with hookworm, by direct visualization of eggs in stool samples, from October 2004 until December 2012.

RESULTS

Of the 1872patients studied, 253 (13.5%) were diagnosed with a hookworm infection. In patients where hookworm was the only helminthiasis diagnosed, 8.3% had iron deficiency anaemia, 65.7% did not have eosinophilia, and of these, 25.9% had no abdominal pain.

CONCLUSIONS

Hookworm is a frequent parasite infestation in the Sub-Saharan immigrant population. Many patients are asymptomatic; thus the implementation of a study protocol for immigrants from endemic areas could diagnose and treat more patients with this disease.