A Hospital-Based Study of Intestinal Capillariasis in Thailand: Clinical Features, Potential Clues for Diagnosis, and Epidemiological Characteristics of 85 Patients

Abstract

Intestinal capillariasis caused by , a fish-borne nematode, is an important, emerging zoonotic helminthiasis. Cases may be fatal if suitable treatment is not administered in time. We reported a hospital-based study of 85 cases in Thailand, most of which were in the northeast. All patients had a history of eating raw or insufficiently cooked fresh water fish or prawns. The clinical manifestations are characterized by chronic diarrhea, borborygmi, abdominal pain, marked weight loss, muscle weakness, fatigue, dizziness, anorexia, and edema, as well as protein and electrolyte loss. Fecal examination revealed in all patients. Although 16 of the total of 85 (18.8%) cases were initially found to be negative for using fecal examination, further examination using an immunoblotting technique found them to be positive for the IgG antibody against larval antigen. One day after administration of 400 mg of albendazole, eggs and/or larvae and/or adult were found in 16 fecal samples. After treatment with mebendazole (200 mg twice a day for 30 days) or albendazole (200 mg twice a day for 10 days), all 85 patients recovered. The potential clues for diagnosis are clinical manifestations, history of eating raw contaminated food, and positive serological test, and fecal examinations under professional. Administration of anthelminthic drugs stimulates the excretion of larvae, eggs, and/or adult worms and can be used as a supportive method for the diagnosis of intestinal capillariasis in areas where serological test is not available.

Albendazole and Mebendazole as Anti-Parasitic and Anti-Cancer Agents: an Update

“…One treatment failure case was retreated with mebendazole 400 mg daily for 20 days with success; however, they recommended albendazole as the drug of choice [ 112 ]. Thereafter, many workers used albendazole for treatment of this disease, including Lee et al [ 113 ], Hong et al [ 114 ], Bair et al [ 115 ], Soukhathamvong et al [ 116 ], Rana et al [ 117 ], and Sadaow et al [ 118 ]. The dosage regimen of albendazole has been 400–800 mg daily for 10–30 days.…”

Parasites of zoonotic interest in selected edible freshwater fish imported to Australia

“…Fish borne zoonotic parasites if consumed in undercooked fish may cause a variety of clinical manifestations in humans, from mild and transient to chronic, severe or at times life threatening ( Bao et al, 2017 ; Limsrivilai et al, 2014 ; Piscaglia et al, 2014 ; Sadaow et al, 2017 ). According to Shamsi and Sheorey (2018) , a lack of diagnostic suspicion in Australia may contribute to the low number of reported cases of human infection from fish borne parasites.…”

High Prevalence of Intestinal Capillariasis in Chronic Diarrhea Patients in Thailand: Serological Screening Using a Rapid Lateral-Flow Immunochromatographic Assay

“…1 Infection has been recorded in several countries in Asia 2 and Europe 3 and incidence has increased in recent years. 4,5 Thailand is also an endemic area for intestinal capillariasis: cases have been reported in about one-third of all provinces. 4,5 Humans are infected by consuming small cyprinoid freshwater fish or shrimps, either raw or partially cooked, that contain infective larvae.…”

“…4,5 Thailand is also an endemic area for intestinal capillariasis: cases have been reported in about one-third of all provinces. 4,5 Humans are infected by consuming small cyprinoid freshwater fish or shrimps, either raw or partially cooked, that contain infective larvae. The helminth can reproduce within an individual host via an autoinfection cycle, resulting in large numbers of worms in the small intestine.…”

“…Khon Kaen Province in the northeast part of Thailand is known to be highly endemic for intestinal capillariasis. 5 The investigation was designed as a cross-sectional and clinical-based study to evaluate the involvement of C. philippinensis as a cause of chronic diarrhea. A total of 292 individuals (female 5 147 and male 5 145; age range 5 18-93; mean 6 SD 5 54.5 6 15.9) were recruited for screening from September 2018 to August 2019.…”