Case of creeping disease treated with ivermectin

Abstract

We report a case of creeping disease treated successfully with ivermectin. A 46-year-old man presented with a 1-month history of pruriginous linear erythema on his right thigh after a visit to Indonesia. Although he had no history of eating raw fish or meat, he walked along the river and in the jungle without wearing shoes. Creeping disease caused by animal hookworm was strongly suspected. The presence of parasite larvae was not confirmed in biopsied skin specimens. In enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, serum samples were negative for binding to hookworm antigens, including Ancylostoma canium, Necator americanus and Gnathostoma doloresi. He was treated with a single 12 mg oral dose (200 microg/kg) of ivermectin. The eruption and pruritus resolved within a few days after the administration and did not relapse.

Letter to the Editor

“…Oral ivermectin therapy has been reported to be successful in treating creeping disease. 2 In this case, oral ivermectin therapy was very effective for the first eruption. Fexofenadine therapy effectively attenuated the second eruption with moderate itching.…”