Trichuris Trichuris (whipworm) (14 of 19)

A 4x view of eggs.

Whipworm infections transpire as a result of accidental
ingestion of Trichuris trichiura eggs or embryos. After
they are swallowed, the eggs move to the host's small
intestine, where they develop into juveniles. The young
worms then move to the large intestine and attach their
anterior ends to the intestinal wall. After approximately
three months, the parasite becomes a sexually mature
adult, females producing up to 10,000 eggs per day, which
are passed out of the host's system with digestive wastes.
The eggs need a warm moist environment to survive
outside the body and become infective in about three
weeks. Since whipworms do not actually multiply inside a
host, each individual worm represents a separate incident
of infection.