Involvement of Hookworm Co-Infection in the Pathogenesis and Progression of Podoconiosis: Possible Immunological Mechanism

Abstract

Podoconiosis is an endemic, non-infectious, geochemical and non-filarial inflammatory cause of tropical elephantiasis. The immunology of podoconiosis is not yet expressly understood. In spite of this, co-infection and co-morbidity with the infectious, soil-transmitted hookworm disease that causes iron deficiency anemia has been found to be predominant among affected individuals living in co-endemic settings, thus creating a more complex immunological interplay that still has not been investigated. Although deworming and iron-rich nutrient supplementation have been suggested in podoconiosis patients living under resource-poor conditions, and it is thought that hookworm infection may help to suppress inflammatory responses, the undisputed link that exists between a non-infectious and an infectious disease may create a scenario whereby during a co-infection, treatment of one exacerbates the other disease condition or is dampened by the debilitation caused by the other. In this paper, we elaborate on the immunopathogenesis of podoconiosis and examine the possible immunological dynamics of hookworm co-infection in the immunopathology of podoconiosis, with a view toward improved management of the disease that will facilitate its feasible elimination.