{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,4]],"date-time":"2026-09-04T05:16:37Z","timestamp":1788498997955,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":55,"publisher":"American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,5]],"date-time":"2025-03-05T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1741132800000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,5]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>ABSTRACT.<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>To identify potential sources of hookworm infections in a Ghanaian community of endemicity that could be targeted to interrupt transmission, we tracked the movements of infected and noninfected persons to their most frequented locations. Fifty-nine participants (29 hookworm positives and 30 negatives) wore GPS trackers for 10 consecutive days. Their movement data were captured in real time and overlaid on a community grid map. Soil samples were collected and divided into two parts: one for determining the physical and chemical properties and the other for culture of helminth larvae. Soil parameters were determined using standard methods, and the number of larvae recovered from Baermann cultures (expressed as larvae per gram of soil) was recorded. We found no significant difference in the larval counts between sites of infected and noninfected participants (<jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic> = 0.59). Sandy-loam soil, pH, and effective cation exchange capacity were associated with high larval recovery counts (<jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic> &lt;0.001), whereas nitrogen and clay content were associated with low counts (<jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic> &lt;0.001). Genomic DNA was extracted from helminth larvae, and species were identified using metagenomic analysis of DNA sequences. The dominant helminth species identified were <jats:italic>Panagrolaimus superbus<\/jats:italic>, <jats:italic>Parastrongyloides trichosuri<\/jats:italic>, <jats:italic>Trichuris trichiura<\/jats:italic> (human whipworm), and <jats:italic>Ancylostoma caninum<\/jats:italic> (dog hookworm). Despite <jats:italic>Necator americanus<\/jats:italic> being the predominant species in the community, no larvae of this species were identified. This study, however, demonstrates the feasibility of applying molecular tools for identifying environmental factors and places associated with exposure to human and zoonotic helminths, including areas that may be targeted to break transmission in communities where infection is endemic.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.4269\/ajtmh.24-0384","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,15]],"date-time":"2025-01-15T14:59:01Z","timestamp":1736953141000},"page":"561-570","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":5,"title":["Investigating Environmental Determinants of Hookworm Transmission using GPS Tracking and Metagenomics Technologies"],"prefix":"10.4269","volume":"112","author":[{"given":"Jeffrey Gabriel","family":"Sumboh","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Parasitology, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kwasi","family":"Agyenkwa-Mawuli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Parasitology, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Eyram","family":"Schwinger","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Mathematics, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Irene Owusu","family":"Donkor","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Epidemiology, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jewelna","family":"Akorli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Parasitology, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Duah","family":"Dwomoh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yvonne","family":"Ashong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Parasitology, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Dickson","family":"Osabutey","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Parasitology, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Felix Owusu","family":"Ababio","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Soil Research Institute, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Accra, Ghana;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Olivia","family":"Nusbaum","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Debbie","family":"Humphries","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Michael","family":"Cappello","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kwadwo Ansah","family":"Koram","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Epidemiology, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Samuel K.","family":"Kwofie","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Engineering Sciences, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Michael D.","family":"Wilson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Parasitology, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"2795","reference":[{"key":"b1","series-title":"PLoS Negl Trop Dis","first-page":"e0008907","article-title":"Epidemiology of soil-transmitted helminth infections in Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia","volume":"14","author":"Kurscheid","year":"2020"},{"key":"b2","series-title":"The Lancet","first-page":"1603","article-title":"Global, regional, and national disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) for 315 diseases and injuries 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