Teen Infected With Hookworms On South Florida Beach

Warning: The photos on this story may be disturbing to some readers.POMPANO BEACH, Fla. (WATN/WFLA) – The mother of a Tennessee teen is sharing awareness after her son got a serious hookworm infection on a Florida beach.Kelli Dumas said her son and eight other boys went on a church trip in June. After the 17-year-old’s return home to Memphis, his family discovered he’d contracted the parasite after his friends buried him up to his neck in sand."They’re incredibly horrible and they’re so graphic," his mother told WATN. "One of them is three inches by three inches. It’s a crater in his foot." The cost of the teen’s treatment is $1300.Dumas said the Florida health department told her that it was common knowledge that you should wear shoes on the beach.