Lagochilascaris minor Leiper, 1909 (Nematoda: Ascarididae) in Mexico: three clinical cases from the Peninsula of Yucatan

Abstract

SUMMARYHuman lagochilascariasis (HL) is a parasite produced by Lagochilascaris minor Leiper 1909 that also can be found in cats and dogs. HL is considered an emerging zoonosis in the Americas, spreading from Mexico to Argentina, and the Caribbean Islands. The present paper describes three HL cases from the Peninsula of Yucatan, Mexico, recorded in the last decade. It describes the characteristics of the lesions and discusses the route of transmission in humans and particularly in the observed patients.

Human lagochilascariasis—A rare helminthic disease

“…Human lagochilascariasis has been recorded in Trinidad and Tobago [1,2,18,23], Surinam [14,20,24,25], Mexico [9,26], Costa Rica [27], Venezuela [6,15,28], Colombia [11,12], Bolivia [29], Ecuador [30], Paraguay [7], Brazil [3–5,10,13,16,21,31–35] and Peru [36] (Fig 1). As for its geographic distribution by country, the highest concentration is found in Brazil, representing 78.1% (100/128) of the total number of cases reported in the literature [36].…”

“…Usually, the patient seeks medical help after several days of discomfort and is examined by several physicians, showing poor response to antibiotics [9]. The lesion usually evolves slowly over weeks or months.…”

“…Some reports refer to chronic abscesses of the auditory meatus (with purulent exudate for 1 or 2 years) and painful tumor in the mastoid [7,9], which may progress to neurological involvement [13,17]. Otalgia and purulent otorrhea have been recorded.…”

“…Infected individuals only seek medical assistance in the advanced stages of the disease [5,9,21]. The aspect of the cervical lesions involves differential diagnosis with pyogenic adenitis, actinomycosis, paracoccidioidomycosis, ganglionar tuberculosis, and leishmaniasis [5,19,35].…”

“…L . minor has been found in subcutaneous abscesses in the cervical region [1–5], mastoid [4–9], rhino-oropharynx [4,5,9,10], tonsils [4,5,11,12], auditory meatus [4,5,10,13], nasal sinuses [9,13–15], lungs [4,5,16], central nervous system [6,13,17] , sacral region [4], eyes [10,18], and dental alveoli [5,9,19] of humans. Different stages of the life cycle (eggs, larvae, and adult worm) have also been found [5,14,20,21].…”