New cases of human diphyllobothriosis in Patagonia, Argentine

Abstract

The purpose of the paper is to describe 4 new cases of human diphyllobothriosis in Patagonia, Argentine. Adult parasites recovered were submitted to morphological and histological analyses for taxonomic identification. The etiological agent found was always Diphyllobothrium latum and all the cases were autochthonous. These data combined with previous information make the number of autochthonous human cases of diphyllobothriosis registered in Argentina increase to 18. 4 D. latum is recognized as the only etiological agent of diphyllobothriosis in Argentina and the disease is restricted to the Andean Patagonia. Resumo Foram descritos 4 novos casos de difilobotriosis humana na 5The purpose of this study is to describe 4 new cases of diphyllobothriosis in Patagonia (Argentina).Medical records of health facilities in the provinces of Neuquén (public hospital of San Martín de los Andes) and Río Negro (Private Hospital Bariloche), from 1994 to 1999, were revised and parasitological material was obtained from institutional collections and examined.

Update on the Human Broad Tapeworm (GenusDiphyllobothrium), Including Clinical Relevance

“…Most human infections caused by D. pacificum and, allegedly, D. latum have been reported from Chile and Peru, with other cases in Argentina, Brazil, and Ecuador (17,18,39,40,54,(145)(146)(147), including recent outbreaks of diphyllobothriosis in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo (46,47,153).…”

Possible influence of the ENSO phenomenon on the pathoecology of diphyllobothriasis and anisakiasis in ancient Chinchorro populations

“…Some D. latum cases identified in Peru and Brazil were later identified as D. pacificum, a parasite of seals, sea lions and other marine mammals (Baer 1969, Cattan et al 1977. In South America, only Chile and Argentina have reported autochthonous human cases of diphyllobothriasis caused by D. latum (Semenas et al 2001). The D. latum and D. dendriticum parasite species were not originally from South America and were originally introduced to the continent by European immigrants (Semenas & Úbeda 1997).…”

Diphyllobothrium latum: relato de caso no Brasil

“…Alguns estudos mostraram uma freqüência relativa de casos importados (adquiridos durante viagens para outros países ou após consumo de peixe importado) que poderiam, em alguns casos, ajudar na manutenção do parasita, ou a introduzi-lo em áreas que já tivesse desaparecido 12 .…”