An infection of the small intestine caused by parasitic roundworms of the genus Ascaris, leading to malnutrition and digestive problems.
From 'Ascaris' (the roundworm genus) plus '-osis' (disease) with the suffix '-asis' (disease condition). This medical term specifically names the disease caused by Ascaris infections.
Ascaridiasis is one of the most widespread parasitic diseases in the world but it's almost completely absent in wealthy countries with good sanitation—it's basically a poverty disease, and fixing it doesn't require expensive medicine, just clean water and toilets, which makes the continued burden particularly heartbreaking.
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