A paediatric case of cutaneous larva migrans acquired in the UK

Abstract

Figure 1 Erythematous serpiginous lesion proximal to the left lateral malleolus.ª

Cutaneous larva migrans: an unusual souvenir from a Scottish holiday

“…Humans are not the definitive host; the full lifecycle occurs predominantly in dogs and cats and sometimes cows, with eggs passed into their stool. For most species of hookworm, infection of humans is limited to the epidermis, as the larvae cannot breach the upper dermis 1 . The condition is commonly seen in tropical and subtropical climates because warm wet conditions are believed to encourage the parasitic eggs to reach sufficient maturity in contaminated sand or soil and then invade the skin 2 .…”

“…For most species of hookworm, infection of humans is limited to the epidermis, as the larvae cannot breach the upper dermis. 1 The condition is commonly seen in tropical and subtropical climates because warm wet conditions are believed to encourage the parasitic eggs to reach sufficient maturity in contaminated sand or soil and then invade the skin. 2 It is unusual for this ectoparasitosis to be contracted in temperate climates.…”

“…However, there are been recent reports of inflammatory arthritis and enthesitis in patients on dupilumab, although the clinical and biological links need to be clarified. de Wijs et al 1 described a 38-year-old woman who developed severe diffuse joint pain and morning stiffness starting within days of her first dupilumab injection, and Willsmore et al described three cases of inflammatory peripheral arthritis and enthesitis, commencing after 6, 12 and 16 weeks, respectively, of dupilumab use. 2 In our case, the rheumatological symptoms occurred after 2 years of therapy, which had been well tolerated until that time.…”

Evaluation of heating and liming treatments in sand samples artificially contaminated with Ancylostoma spp. eggs

“…Humans can potentially become infected through active penetration of the larva (L3) into the skin, which results in cutaneous larva migrans (CLM) ( Bojar & Kłapeć, 2018 ). The penetration and migration of larvae through the skin causes serpiginous rash lesions with erythema and severe itching ( Howard & Gibbs, 2019 ; Maxfield & Crane, 2024 ; Neupane et al, 2022 ). Lesions tend to be restricted to the skin and may occur on the feet ( Harrison et al, 2022 ; Neupane et al, 2022 ), buttocks ( Ansari et al, 2018 ; Magalhães & Nico, 2018 ), legs ( Thadchanamoorthy & Dayasiri, 2021 ), arms ( Sönmezer et al, 2017 ), back ( Del Giudice et al, 2019 ), hands and abdomen ( Eksomtramage & Aiempanakit, 2018 ).…”

“…CLM is most common in tropical and subtropical countries, although there has been an increase in cases in non-tropical regions as a result of global warming ( Can & Yürekli, 2022 ). Autochthonous cases have been documented in European countries, including the United Kingdom ( Howard & Gibbs, 2019 ), France ( Del Giudice et al, 2019 ), and Germany ( Kienast et al, 2007 ). This zoonosis is considered a traveler’s disease ( Villagrasa-Boli et al, 2022 ; Ju et al, 2022 ), affecting tourists who have visited tropical countries and come into contact with soil ( Smilga & Bujold, 2018 ; Gao & Liu, 2019 ).…”