Helminths (the word is derived from the Greek meaning “worms”) have infected humans since before the era of our earliest recorded history.
There are two major phyla of helminths: (1) The nemathelminthes (nematodes/roundworms) include the major intestinal worms (soil-transmitted helminths/STHs) and the filarial worms that cause lymphatic filariasis (LF) and onchocerciasis; (2) The platyhelminthes (flatworms) include the flukes (trematodes), such as the schistosomes, and the tapeworms (cestodes), such as the pork tapeworm that causes cysticercosis.
