USAID's NTD Program

Whipworm (Trichuris trichiura or Trichocephalus trichiuris)

Symptoms

Symptoms range from asymptomatic through vague digestive tract distress for light infestations to emaciation with dry skin and diarrhea (usually mucoid and/or bloody) for heavy infestations.¹ In children, heavy infections could lead to growth retardation.² Additionally, long-standing bloody diarrhea could lead to iron-deficiency anemia in many individuals. In the most severe cases, individuals could experience rectal prolapse.³ However, among all signs and symptoms, finger clubbing is the best clinical predictor of the intensity of infection.⁴ Toxic or allergic symptoms may also occur. Infection can be avoided by proper disposal of human feces, not eating dirt, and not eating crops fertilized with night soil.

Learn more about whipworm:

• Epidemiology
• Life Cycle of T. trichiura
• Diagnosis
• Treatment, Prevention, and Control
• Back to Whipworm Overview

References

1. R.K. Grencis, E.S. Cooper. Enterobius, trichuris, capillaria, and hookworm including ancylostoma caninum. Gastroenterol Clin North Am:579-97, 1996.
2. Cooper ES, Bundy DAP, MacDonald TT, et al: Growth suppression in the Trichuris dysentery syndrome. Eur J Clin Nutr. 44:138, 1990.
3. Bundy DAP, Cooper ES: Trichuris and trichuriasis in humans. Adv Parasitol 28:107, 1989.
4. Cooper ES, Whyte-Alleng CAM, Finzi-Smith JS, et al: Intestinal nematode infections in children: The pathophysiological price paid. Parasitology. 104(suppl):S91, 1992.