As a child I was treated regularly for worms, including but not limited to hookworms. Worms infest whites as well as blacks, Hispanics, and everyone else. Both rich and poor get worms. As the CDC posting states: "Hookworm infection is mainly acquired by walking barefoot on contaminated soil. One kind of hookworm can also be transmitted through the ingestion of larvae." And what kind of child doesn't walk barefoot in the mud or eat dirt?
The answer possibly is sickly children! Some hypothesize that exposure to worms may be necessary for a child to develop a proper immune response:
The article is incorrect. Hookworm was never eradicated in the US. It was just confined to poor, black folks. [0]
[0]https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/05/hookworm-low...