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Worm infestations were virtually universal in the past, and Giardiasis is still easily picked up from drinking water from streams. Dense population centers or poor sanitation facilities not required....Infestation rates have come down in recent years, not because of improved facilities, but simply from more universal use of shoes (!!!).. . https://www.cdc.gov/sth/about/index.html ...worms of Ascaris & Trichuris enter the host thru the soles of the feet, live & produce eggs in the host GI tract. Eggs are deposited in the soil via feces, then hatch in the soil to complete the cycle. It's a pedal/fecal transmission, not oral/fecal. Edit to add-- Because infestation was probably universal and endemic, the hosts were probably "accustomed" to sharing their nutrition with their internal neighbors ("Give me a piece of burnt toast and a rotten egg. I've got a tapeworm worm and that's good enough for him."-- Curly Howard)...They may have suffered from a relative stunting of growth and decreased strength and exercise tolerance, but everyone would have been affected equally.