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Adult worms, which reproduce, can be more than a foot long.

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Also known as roundworms.

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Ascariasis lumbricoides causes ascariasis, one of the most common intestinal infections. This infection happens all over the world but is more common in geographical areas where human feces is used as fertilizer and where good hygiene is not practiced. The eggs thrive best in warm, moist soil.

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Cough, wheezing, and shortness of breath due to migration of worms through the body. They enter and spend 10-14 days in the lungs then the larvae travel through the body into the esophagus. They then get coughed up and swallowed.

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In heavy ascariasis infestation, a mass of worms can block a portion of your intestine. This can cause severe abdominal cramping and vomiting. The blockage can even make a hole in the intestinal wall or appendix, causing internal bleeding (hemorrhage) or appendicitis.

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Abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, bloody stools, fatigue, and weight loss.

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Piece of intestine, blocked by worms, surgically removed from a three-year-old boy in South Africa.

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Ascariasis isn't spread directly from person to person. A person has to come into contact with soil mixed with human or pig feces that contain ascariasis eggs or infected water. In some developing countries, human feces are used for fertilizer, or poor sanitary facilities allow human waste to mix with soil in yards, ditches and fields. People can also get it from eating uncooked pig or chicken liver that is infected.

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Small children often play in dirt, and infection can occur if they put their dirty fingers in their mouths. Unwashed fruits or vegetables grown in contaminated soil also can transmit the ascariasis eggs.

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The whole process — from egg ingestion to egg deposits — takes about two or three months. Ascariasis worms can live inside your body for a year or two.

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Mature female ascariasis worms in your intestine begin laying eggs. These eggs travel through your digestive system and eventually can be found in your stool. To diagnose ascariasis, your doctor will examine your stool for the microscopic eggs and larvae. But eggs won't appear in stool until at least 40 days after you're infected. And if you're infected with only male worms, you won't have eggs.

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Your blood can be tested for the presence of an increased number of a certain type of white blood cell, called eosinophils. Ascariasis can elevate your eosinophils.

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If you're infested with worms, the mass of worms may be visible in an X-ray of the abdomen. In some cases, a chest X-ray can reveal the larvae in the lungs. Your doctor may also order an ultrasound, CT, or MRI.

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High number of ascaris worms – visible as black tangled mass – are filling the duodenum, the first portion of the bowel after the stomach, of this South African patient (X-ray image with barium as contrast medium).

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Medications that are used to kill roundworms are called acaricides. Those recommended by the World Health Organization for ascariasis are: albendazole, mebendazole, levamisole and pyrantel pamoate. Single‐dose of albendazole, mebendazole, and ivermectin are effective against ascariasis. They are effective at removing both parasites and eggs from the intestines.

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In some cases, with severe infestation, the worms may cause bowel obstruction, requiring emergency surgery. The bowel obstruction may be due to the number of worms in the bowel or twisting of the bowel. During the surgery the worms may be manually removed.

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The best defense against ascariasis is good hygiene and common sense.

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Use care when traveling. Use only bottled water and avoid raw vegetables unless you can peel and wash them.

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Practice good hygiene. Before handling food, always wash your hands with soap and water. Wash fresh fruits and vegetables thoroughly.