The following background data on hookworm in the United States are abstracted from Gideon www.GideonOnlne.com.  Primary references are available on request.

Hookworm was formerly common in the South and Southeast, with highest rates among Children.  7,391 cases of ancylostomiasis were officially notified through optional reporting during 1967 to 1969, including 4,831 (65.4%) from Georgia.  In 1987, 68.7% of positive state laboratory reports were submitted from California, Wisconsin, Rhode Island, Colorado and Washington.

Prevalence surveys:

Year(s) / Region / Details

1909-1914 / South / 40% of the general population

1942 / Appalachia / 14.6% of college students

1955 / Tennessee / 19.6% of rural school children

1955 / Kentucky / 0.5% of the general population in eastern region

1965 / Kentucky / 3.6% of native-born children in eastern region

1969 / North Carolina / 3.0% of Cherokee Indian school children

1970 / Kentucky / 14.8% of rural school children

1972 / South Carolina / 1.8% of school children in coastal region

1972 / Georgia / 4.6% of rural white children

1972 / Georgia / 13.6% of rural white and African-American population

1972 / Louisiana / 0.4% of the low-income population

1974 / Louisiana / 0.1% of kindergarten children in New Orleans

1975 / Louisiana / 0.1% of young children in southwest region

1975 / Illinois / 6.6% of Latino residents of Chicago

1981 / California / 2% (Mexican) and 25% (Indochinese) of immigrants

1982 / Kentucky / 0.2% of native-born children ages 3 to 7 years

1982 / NS / 20% of Southeast Asian immigrants

1987 / multiple / 1.5% of stool specimens submitted to state laboratories

1993-2007 / Minnesota / 9.2% of African and Southeast Asian immigrants

1995 / Washington / 4.5% of Southeast Asian immigrants in Seattle

1996-2001 / Minnesota / 2% of refuges at first screening visit

2008-2010 / California / 1.1% of recently-arrived refugees

Not unexpectedly, hookworm is also identified among military personnel serving in endemic regions.  For example, in 1975 hookworm was found in 0.9% of American aircrew members serving in Southeast Asia; while in 1983, an overt outbreak (35 cases) was reported among American soldiers following the invasion of Grenada.

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