Lucia Pombosister of the famous María Pombo, has returned from the beaches of Zanzibar with a curious souvenir: a worm in the foot. The unpleasant images published on social networks by the influencer basically show that, a larva located under her skin, surrounded by a kind of reddish bubble. But how could it get there?
The young woman is not sure how this parasitic worm could have gotten to her foot, although she suspects that it could have been on a beach that, according to her, was “infested with stray cats and dogs.” She makes sense, because what she has is something known as larva migrans cutaneouswhich occurs when a parasite, which normally infects the digestive system of cats and dogs, penetrates through the skin of humans and lodges under it, causing itching and rashes.
Fortunately, the worm in the foot of Lucia Pombo It’s not dangerous. It belongs to a species that is not able to access the human digestive system and that normally disappears on its own, without the need for treatment. Even so, she has already gone to a doctor, who has prescribed some drugs that will help it disappear faster. Everything has been a scare. Quite unpleasant to look at, but just a scare. Now, what else do we know about this parasite?
Where did the worm in Lucía Pombo’s foot come from?
The Lucía Pombo footworm belongs to the genus Ancylostoma. It is a parasite that normally lives in humid environmentsin climates tropicalwhose life cycle often bumps into tourists’ feet in the process.
In the book Parasites: The secondary actors in our storyof Concha Mesa and José Antonio Garrido, several examples are described of this parasite and how it can reach humans.
The eggs are usually laid in the soil of these humid places. Once these hatch, they release the larvae in their initial stage of development. Thus, they continue to develop until they reach what is known as L3 state. Under certain conditions of temperature and humidity, they stop feeding and stop their development, forming structures in the form of hairballs, which remain in the ground, waiting to find a host in which they can live. continue to develop.
In the case of humans, they usually penetrate through bare feet, as happened to Lucía Pombo. Once there, everything depends on the species of Ancylostoma that we are talking about. The influencer has been lucky, because the worm in her foot is one of the species that does not have humans among its main hosts. Possibly it is Ancylostoma braziliensesince it is one of the species that most commonly causes larva migrans. This parasite lives mainly in the southern United States and Central and South America. However, it can live in some tropical regions of Africa, such as, indeed, Zanzibar island.
This parasite cannot complete its life cycle in humans. So, once it penetrates under the skin, although it causes itching and rashesends up dying, without reaching the adult phase.
It could have been worse
Other parasites of the same genus, such as Ancylostoma duodenalisthey can indeed end their life cycle in humans, causing much more serious symptoms.
We have already seen that the larvae that penetrate the skin are in the L3 stage of development. They must go through two more before becoming adults, but that already happens inside the host’s body. After crossing the skin, the L3 larvae resume their development and penetrate the cutaneous venules, by which they travel to the right ventricle of the heart. From there they go to pulmonary capillaries, which carry them to the bronchi, bronchioles and trachea. In the latter, they are swallowed to reach the digestive system, where they finish their development.
They have structures, similar to hooks, to join the mucous membranes and blood vessels. Thus, throughout this journey through the human body, they cause small wounds and blood loss that end up causing anemia in the host. This is a very serious anemia, which can even be fatal.
In fact, Mesa and Garrido mention in their book the case of the construction of the Gotthard tunnel, in the XIX century. Many of the workers who participated in it died after suffering from severe anemia of initially unknown origin. It was soon proven that they had contracted this disease, which fortunately is not the one that has affected Lucia Pombo.
The influencer has been invaded by a parasite that normally ends its life cycle in Dogs and cats. That is, in these animals you can continue with the rest of the steps after L3: go to the respiratory system and, from there, to the digestive.
At this point, the larvae become adults and lay eggs that are released to the outside through feces. Those feces on the ground are what start a new cycle that continues with the footsteps of some poor tourist, like Lucía Pombo.
Anyway, in his case he only has a worm in his foot. The parasite will not travel through your body, as it would have A. duodenalis, because you don’t have the tools to do it. Fortunately.