Google only had 77,000 hits [of course I had to look it up!]; there
are 2 varieties in the Americas, they grow only in warm climates,
thrive in loamy or sandy soil, require a certain amount of rainfall
and warm temps, all such as are found in the south. It was thought
that they were brought over with African slaves, as they are not
found in northern Europe, but recent discoveries show they were here
before European exploration. They do cause anemia in people with poor
nutritional levels to begin with; well fed people can be
asymptomatic. The worms also cause a leakage of protein in the gut,
and while not fatal in themselves, they can cause death by secondary
disease due to the weakened state of the person. They also lead to
deficiencies in folic acid [which we have recently learned is vital
to the development of healthy babies] and B12, which would only
compound the anemia by making iron that much harder for the stomach
to absorb. Nasty little critters any way you look at it.
Nancy
-------
I was never lost, but I was bewildered once for three days.
--Daniel Boone
On Mar 1, 2007, at 10:37 PM, Sunshine49 wrote:
> Interesting theory, thanks. I believe one effect of hookworms is
> anemia as well. Not very good, when you don't have a rich diet to
> begin with. It might explain the instances of pica in the south,
> women eating dirt, etc., it's common with anemia to eat weird
> things in an effort to alleviate it. I'd still love to know about
> the origins of hookworms, if they came over from Europe, or if they
> weren't a problem with the natives who had little in the way of
> animals living with them, unlike the whites and later freed blacks.
> Google probably has 546,000 hits...
>
> Nancy
>
> -------
> I was never lost, but I was bewildered once for three days.
>
> --Daniel Boone
>
>
>
> On Mar 1, 2007, at 9:32 PM, Anita L. Henderson wrote:
>
To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions
at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html
|
