INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Michael Dumas, 17, got hookworms when his friends buried him in the sand at a Florida beach on June 20.Kelli Mulhollen Dumas said she
thought the small, red bumps on her son's skin were bites from chiggers or mosquitoes.Her son, Michael, had just returned from Florida, and
she knew he had spent a lot of time outdoors
But within days, she said, the 17-year-old had several more spots - then "his whole backside" was covered
Ultimately, Dumas said, areas on her son's feet, legs and buttocks were covered in a red, itchy rash - the telltale sign of certain type of
hookworm, a parasite that can infect both animals and humans.Dumas said the doctor confirmed that it was cutaneous larva migrans, a skin
condition caused by larvae from animal hookworms, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."I can't stress enough how
traumatic it is for a teenage boy - and his mother - to know that there are worms living in his body," Dumas said Wednesday in an interview
The Washington Post .Dumas, from Memphis, said she believes that her son contracted the parasite in mid-June on a beach in South
Florida.Hookworm is spread through the feces of animals or humans who have the parasite, and people can contract it by simply walking
barefoot on sand or soil that has been contaminated, according to the CDC.Michael had been buried up to his neck in sand.The state and
county health departments in Florida did not respond to requests for comment on potential contamination.Dumas said the doctor gave Michael
an antibiotic and an anti-parasitic but the medication "wasn't working fast enough," so she made an emergency appointment with a
dermatologist earlier this month.Dumas said the dermatologist used cryotherapy, a treatment in which liquid nitrogen is commonly used to
"freeze" lesions off the skin
But during treatment, the teen's mother said that her son urged the doctor to stop, saying he felt as though he could "feel it running from
the liquid nitrogen."Dumas said the doctor confirmed that it was cutaneous larva migrans"It's disgusting," she said
"It's beyond disgusting."There are two main types of hookworm - human hookworms and animal, or zoonotic, hookworms
But Bobbi Pritt, director of the Clinical Parasitology Laboratory in Mayo Clinic's Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, said
both kinds can be transmitted to people, and it happens in a similar way - animals or humans infected with the parasite defecate into sand
or soil and, because their feces carry the parasite's eggs, the ground then becomes contaminated
Once in the ground, Pritt said, the eggs hatch into larvae, or immature hookworms, and when people come into contact with them, they can
penetrate the skin.The results vary based on the type of hookworm.Hookworm is an intestinal parasite, so when human hookworms penetrate a
person's skin, they migrate into the bloodstream and take up residence in the gut.However, animal hookworms cannot adapt to the human body,
so the larvae usually never make it into the person's intestines, Pritt said
Instead, Pritt said, the larvae, which are microscopic, roam around in the person's skin - causing those red, squiggly marks - trying, but
unable, to mature or to reproduce
Pritt said that eventually the larvae die.That itchy and sometimes painful rash is called cutaneous larva migrans - the same one that
Michael's mother said he was diagnosed with - and it's caused by the animal form of hookworms.Susan Montgomery, epidemiology team lead of
the Parasitic Diseases Branch of the CDC's Center for Global Health, said that animal hookworm infections in humans are typically treated
with medications, such as an anti-parasitic
But even without treatment, Montgomery said, the parasite will die within several weeks
She said people do not usually report feeling larvae move in the skin.Dumas said her son's ordeal " has been a nightmare."The mother said
that her son has also developed a staph infection from the hookworms
He is on medications to treat not only the parasite but also the staph, a bacterial infection that, when not promptly and properly treated,
can become life-threatening, according to the Mayo Clinic.Last week, Dumas posted a prayer request - and a warning to other parents - on
Facebook:"Urgent prayer request!! Michael went to Miami June 20 for a mission trip
He was buried in the sand for fun and it has become our nightmare
Four of our people contracted a parasitic infection, hookworms, from the Pompano Beach
Michael has the worst case, by far
He has taken Clindamyacin, Ivermectin, a steroid dose pack, and Albenza which cost $1356 for 6 pills (yes that is with insurance and yes I
But you can get them for $0.30 per pill in Honduras
We have been to the pediatrician 4 times, to a dermatologist and have a follow up appointment today
He is in pain and this is AWFUL
Never be buried in sand or allow your children to be either! I am only showing a few pictures because it is so disturbing
Please, please pray for him to heal
Also feel free to SHARE THIS POST AND WARN OTHERS
The Health Department in Pompano Beach said "Everyone knows to wear shoes on the beach because you can get parasites." I assured them
everyone does NOT KNOW THAT!!"Although some people may not experience symptoms with hookworms, the most common symptoms are itchy skin and
rashes, according to the CDC
People with more severe infections may also have abdominal pain, diarrhea, a decreased appetite and weight loss, among other things.To avoid
potential infection, the CDC recommends "not to walk barefoot in areas where hookworm is common and where there may be human fecal
contamination of the soil" or to ingest the soil
Montgomery, with the CDC, said that people should wear shoes on the beach and then sit on a towel
She said it's also important for pet owners to have their dogs and cats regularly dewormed.Dumas told The Post on Wednesday she wants others
to be aware of hookworms because "I don't want anyone else to go through what my son has been through.""I'll never walk on the beach again
without shoes," she said.(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by TheIndianSubcontinent staff and is published from a
