A case report of Anisakis pegreffii (Nematoda, Anisakidae) identified from archival paraffin sections of a Croatian patient

Abstract

BackgroundThis is the first report of anisakiasis in a Croatian patient, evidenced from an archival paraffin-embedded and hematoxylin-eosin stained tissue section. Anisakiasis has been only suspected in the country based on previously detected anti-Anisakis IgE seroprevalence in the healthy coastal population, as well as an acute case where pathohistological and serological findings suggested the diseases, but the migrating larva has not been retrieved.Case presentationSeventy years-old female, operated in 1998 for pulmonary carcinoma, was admitted to the General hospital Šibenik, Croatia in 2003, because of gastric pain and nausea that lasted for couple of days. She was showing good general condition, full mobility and lucidity, subfebrile status. Abdominal palpation inferred acute pain in paraumbilical and ileocecal region. Exploratory right pararectal laparotomy revealed a hardened, 5 cm-long structure, located intraluminally in the sigmoid colon, not perforating colon serosa. The process has been dissected and sent for patohistological diagnosis. Results showed a 2 mm-long whitish nematode spiralised in muscular layer of colon mucosa surrounded by granulomatous inflammation.ConclusionAfter genomic DNA isolation of the nematode from the histological section, and amplification at the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase 2 locus, etiological agent has been identified as Anisakis pegreffii. Used methodology suggests that screening of archival suspicious sections is feasible in order to study epidemiology of this zoonotic disease poorly recognised in Croatia.

Anisakis simplex (Nematoda: Anisakidae) from horse mackerel (Trachurus trachurus) in Atlantic coast of Morocco

“…A. simplex was found in the body cavity [15]. However, A. simplex was reported in horse mackerel muscle (it has been reported that post-mortem migration of A. simplex into the flesh of some host species [23,24]), but the percentage of larvae found in this tissue varied from very low 1.8% to high 41.8% values [22,25]. It is should be emphasized that very amount of larvae in muscle may depend on the amounts of lipids in this tissue since migration.…”

“…Mladineo et al [24] suggested that the hosts have a diet which may affect the selection of the larvae for a microhabitat (visceral organs and body cavity or muscle). The species which feed on euphausiids presented consistently low proportions of larvae in muscle and piscivorous fishes had larvae more widely distributed [6,27].…”

Morphological and Molecular Characteristics of Anisakis typica Larvae in Two Species of Threadfin Bream, Nemipterus hexodon and N. japonicus, from the Gulf of Thailand

“…Anisakis simplex and Anisakis pegreffii) by humans can cause anisakiasis and more than 20,000 cases have been reported worldwide, over 90% from Japan, and the rest from Asia, Europe, America and New Zealand. Anisakid larvae burrow into the stomach wall and elicit an inflammatory response which causes acute ulceration, nausea, vomiting and epigastric pain [2][3][4][5]. The histological studies of rat stomach tissue infected by Anisakis typica found epithelial damage, bleeding within the submucosal layer, inflammation of the stomach and decreased numbers of mucous cap cells, which comprise the gland-containing, mucus-membrane layer covering the surface of the stomach [6].…”

Anisakis pegreffii impacts differentiation and function of human dendritic cells

“…Nine species have so far been detected genetically as belonging to the genus Anisakis . Among these, Anisakis simplex (sensu stricto ) and Anisakis pegreffii are shown to play a zoonotic role in humans . Anisakis pegreffii infection can provoke gastric (GA), intestinal (IA) and gastroallergic anisakiasis (GAA) …”