Lagochilascariasis: case report

Unusual case of lagochilascariasis with breast involvement: the first case report in pregnancy

“…Identification is usually, and in this report, based on the finding of the nematode parasite eggs (Figure 2A), larvae ( Figure 2B) and adult parasites ( Figure 2C) in lesion secretions. The lagochilascariasis etiologic agent, L. minor, is a small ascarid nematode of up to 20 mm in the adult form, milky white in color and a mouth trimmed by three welldeveloped lips, separated by interlabial membranes, which give the end of the head a characteristic aspect reminiscent of a cleft lip (lago = hare; chil = lip) ( Figures 2B and 2C) 2,6,11,12 .…”

“…The best way to control this disease is prevention. The consumption of game meat, especially rodents, is therefore not recommended, but in the case of real need, cooking the meat at 100 ºC for 10 min and/or freezing it at -20 ºC for 15 days could be a way to prepare meat for human consumption 5,6 .…”

“…The lagochilascariasis etiologic agent, L. minor , is a small ascarid nematode of up to 20 mm in the adult form, milky white in color and a mouth trimmed by three well-developed lips, separated by interlabial membranes, which give the end of the head a characteristic aspect reminiscent of a cleft lip (lago = hare; chil = lip) ( Figures 2B and 2C ) 2 , 6 , 11 , 12 .…”

“…In the transmission cycle, natural hosts which are probably wild carnivores (felids), eliminate the parasite eggs in feces that contaminate the soil. These embryonic eggs are ingested by other animals (probably rodents), resulting in infection with larvae and encysted forms developing in their tissues, thus being intermediate hosts that are mandatory for maintaining the natural zoonotic cycle of the species 3,6 .…”

“…Men domestic dogs and cats become infected by ingesting the L3 larvae encysted in muscles, viscera or subcutaneous tissues of raw or undercooked meat of these intermediate hosts (wild animals), behaving as definitive accidental hosts. The helminth reaches the digestive tract, ascends through the respiratory tract and migrates to the surrounding regions, such as lymph nodes and sinuses 5,6 . Thus, human beings start to host adult, egg and larval forms of the parasite that are able to reproduce successive cycles, in an autoinfection process that will result in a chronic parasitic infectious condition.…”