(BLACK PR WIRE) Healthcare disparities within our wealthy nation are becoming more and more of an issue as health insurance prices rise and employers struggle to cover the added expense. Moreover we are learning new things about appropriate medical care each passing year. A recent study released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates that a large percentage of the United States is infected with internal roundworms or Toxocara; a shocking 14 percent. Furthermore, the transmission of these worms, most often from dogs and cats, is most common in young children and teenagers.

Tropical disease expert Dr. Peter Hotez is concerned with poverty’s link to parasitic infections within the United States comparing these maladies to those typically linked to developing nations. The same parasites affecting the poor of Latin America, Asia and Africa are present here in America according to CDC reports. This news has shocking many while simultaneously urging health experts in within the U.S. to become educated on the subject.

Toxocara roundworms have possible links to asthma and with the rising number of asthma cases appearing in inner-city children, the group at highest risk of acquiring the infection, some strong connections are being made in the medical world. It is important for health care experts to be aware of this hard reality and learn to treat parasites effectively, especially those doctors working with at-risk demographical groups. Furthermore it is vital that all household pets be routinely given preventative, parasite control medicines to prevent the transmission to humans. Technology and policy must unite to solve this problem for the children most at risk of becoming ill with a very preventable ailment.