Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Ancylostoma ceylanicum hookworm infection in Japanese traveler who presented chronic diarrhea after return from Lao People's Democratic Republic.
- Journal:
- Parasitology international
- Year:
- 2016
- Authors:
- Kaya, Daisuke et al.
- Affiliation:
- Department of Gastroenterology · Japan
Plain-English summary
A Japanese traveler who recently returned from Laos experienced ongoing watery diarrhea after his trip. Tests showed that he had a hookworm infection caused by a type called Ancylostoma ceylanicum, which is common in dogs and cats but can also infect humans. The doctors found hookworm eggs in his stool and confirmed the presence of adult worms in his intestines through special imaging tests. It seems he likely picked up the infection while living like a local in a village in Laos, where he ate local food and walked barefoot. The treatment for this infection was successful, resolving his symptoms.
Abstract
Ancylostoma (A.) ceylanicum, one of the most common species of hookworms infecting dogs and cats, also causes patent infections in humans and is now considered to be the second most common hookworm species infecting populations in southeast Asia. A Japanese patient who returned from a visit to Thailand and Lao People's Democratic Republic (PDR) was presented with intermittent watery diarrhea with eosinophilia. Hookworm eggs were found in feces samples, and adult worms were confirmed to be present in the jejunum with capsule endoscopy and double balloon enteroscopy. A diagnosis of A. ceylanicum infection was made based on the morphology of the adult worms along with findings of a PCR-based molecular study using larvae obtained from a fecal sample culture. The infection was considered likely to have been obtained during a 1-month stay in a Laotian village, where the patient had eaten local food, worn sandals on bare feet, and lived as a local native villager, though he had stayed in modern hotels during the visit to Thailand.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27450724/