Editing Trichuriasis (section)

==Cause==
Trichuriasis is caused by a parasitic worm also known as a [[helminth]] called ''[[Trichuris trichiura]]''. It belongs to the genus ''[[Trichuris]]'', formerly known as ''Trichocephalus'', meaning hair head, which would be a more accurate name; however the generic name is now ''Trichuris'', which means hair tail (implying that the posterior end of the worm is the attenuated section). Infections by parasitic worms are known as [[helminthiasis]].{{citation needed|date=May 2021}}

===Reservoir===
Humans are the main, but not the only reservoir for ''T. trichiura''. Recent research verified by the application of molecular techniques (PCR) that dogs are a reservoir for ''T. trichiura'', as well as [[Trichuris vulpis|''T. vulpis'']].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Areekul|first=Pannatat|author2=Jongwutiwes |title=Trichuris vulpis and T. trichiura infections among schoolchildren of a rural community in northwestern Thailand: the possible role of dogs in disease transmission|journal=Asian Biomedicine|date=February 2010|volume=4|issue=1|pages=49–60|doi=10.2478/abm-2010-0006|doi-access=free}}</ref>

===Vector===
Non-biting cyclorrhaphan flies (''Musca domestica'', ''M. sorbens'', ''Chrysomya rufifacies'', ''C. bezziana'', ''Lucina cuprina'', ''Calliphora vicina'' and ''Wohlfarthia magnifica'') have been found to carry ''Trichuris trichiura''. A study in two localized areas in Ethiopia found cockroaches were carriers for several human intestinal parasites, including ''T. trichiura''.{{citation needed|date=May 2021}}

===Transmission===
Humans can become infected with the parasite due to ingestion of infective eggs by mouth contact with hands or food contaminated with egg-carrying soil. However, there have also been rare reported cases of transmission of ''T. trichiura'' by sexual contact. Some major outbreaks have been traced to contaminated [[vegetables]] (due to presumed [[soil contamination]]).{{citation needed|date=May 2021}}

===Life cycle===
[[Embryonated|Unembryonated eggs]] (unsegmented) are passed in the feces of a previous host to the soil. In the soil, these eggs develop into a 2-cell stage (segmented egg) and then into an advanced cleavage stage. Once at this stage, the eggs embryonate and then become infective, a process that occurs in about 15 to 30 days). Next, the infective eggs are ingested by way of soil-contaminated hands or food and hatch inside the small intestine, releasing larvae into the gastrointestinal tract. These larvae burrow into a [[Intestinal villus|villus]] and develop into adults (over 2–3 days). They then migrate into the [[cecum]] and [[ascending colon]] where they thread their anterior portion (whip-like end) into the tissue mucosa and reside permanently for their year-long lifespan. About 60 to 70 days after infection, female adults begin to release unfertilized eggs (oviposit) into the cecum at a rate of 3,000 to 20,000 eggs per day, linking the life cycle to the start.{{citation needed|date=May 2021}}

===Incubation period===
* The exact incubation period of ''T. trichiura'' is unknown, however, immature eggs in soil under favorable conditions take about three weeks to mature: 15–30 days, 10 days minimum to mature before ideal ingestion by the human host. Favorable conditions for maturation of eggs are warm to temperate climates with adequate humidity or precipitation, as ova are resistant to cold, but not resistant to drying.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}
* Once ingested, the larva will remain dug into a villus in the small intestine for about 2–3 days until it is fully developed for migration to the ileocecal section of the gastrointestinal tract.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}
* The average total life span of ''T. trichiura'' is one year, although there have been longer cases reported, lasting as long as five years (Note: inadequate treatment and re-infection are likely to play a role in this).{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

===Morphology===

[[File:Trichuris trichiura egg (01).tif|thumb|right|''Trichuris trichiura'' egg]]
Adult worms are usually {{convert|3|–|5|cm|in}} long, with females being larger than males as is typical of nematodes. The thin, clear majority of the body (the anterior, whip-like end) is the esophagus, and it is the end that the worm threads into the mucosa of the colon. The widened, pinkish-gray region of the body is the posterior, and it is the end that contains the parasite's intestines and reproductive organs.
''T. trichiura'' eggs are [[prolate spheroid]]s, the shape of the balls used in Rugby and [[Gridiron football]]. They are about {{cvt|50|-|54|μm|lk=in}} long and have polar plugs (also known as refractile prominences) at each end.{{citation needed|date=May 2021}}