Human pentastomiasis discovered postmortem

Etté, H. Yapo; Fanton, Laurent; Bryn, K.D Adou; Botti, K.; Koffi, K; Malicier, D.

doi:10.1016/s0379-0738(03)00281-0

Cited by 37 publications

(12 citation statements)

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“…Patients may develop abdominal pain, chronic cough, or night sweats [1],[8],[12]. In heavy infections with Armillifer spp., death may occur due to secondary septicemia, pneumonia, or severe enterocolitis [11],[19]. However, most human infections are asymptomatic, and the disease may be an incidental finding during routine medical consultation or at autopsy.…”

Section: Tutorialmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diagnosis of Human Visceral Pentastomiasis

2009

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Visceral pentastomiasis in humans is caused by the larval stages (nymphs) of the arthropod-related tongue worms Linguatula serrata, Armillifer armillatus, A. moniliformis, A. grandis, and Porocephalus crotali. The majority of cases has been reported from Africa, Malaysia, and the Middle East, where visceral pentastomiasis may be an incidental finding in autopsies, and less often from China and Latin America. In Europe and North America, the disease is only rarely encountered in immigrants and long-term travelers, and the parasitic lesions may be confused with malignancies, leading to a delay in the correct diagnosis. Since clinical symptoms are variable and serological tests are not readily available, the diagnosis often relies on histopathological examinations. This laboratory symposium focuses on the diagnosis of this unusual parasitic disease and presents its risk factors and epidemiology.

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Section: Tutorialmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diagnosis of Human Visceral Pentastomiasis

2009

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“…A. grandis, originally described by Hett in 1915 in African vipers (7), is the least known and seemingly rarest zoonotic pentastomid species. Until recently, only few reports on human infections with this species existed (8)(9)(10). In one of these reports, from the West African Ivory Coast, the parasite was likely misidentified as A. grandis (incorrect size and number of annulations and wrong geographic place) (10).…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Until recently, only few reports on human infections with this species existed (8)(9)(10). In one of these reports, from the West African Ivory Coast, the parasite was likely misidentified as A. grandis (incorrect size and number of annulations and wrong geographic place) (10). However, there may be more true A. grandis cases than concluded, as in many local case descriptions based on X rays, the species is often automatically assumed rather than morphologically or molecularly confirmed as A. armillatus.…”

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confidence: 99%

Molecular Diagnosis of Abdominal Armillifer grandis Pentastomiasis in the Democratic Republic of Congo

et al. 2015

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f Pentastomiasis is an emerging snake-borne parasitic zoonosis in the tropics. We describe a molecular and morphological study to diagnose a cluster of asymptomatic abdominal human infections caused by Armillifer grandis. The findings may indicate a silent epidemic in a rural area where severe symptomatic ocular cases with the same parasite species have recently surfaced. Molecular diagnostics are of increasing importance when patient material from remote areas cannot be thoroughly examined locally for logistic reasons.

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“…Pentastomid infections can cause tissue destruction culminating in death in definitive lizard (Awachie 1974, Zhang et al 1988) and snake hosts (Riley and Walters 1980, Jacobson 2007, Almeida et al 2008, Ayinmode et al 2010), as well as in incidental hosts such as dogs (Brookins et al 2009) and humans (Abadi et al 1996, Yapo Ette et al 2003, Yao et al 2008). Consequently, the potential for the invasive cane toad to spread these pentastomes to native Australian fauna warrants further study.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Invasive parasites in multiple invasive hosts: the arrival of a new host revives a stalled prior parasite invasion

Kelehear

Brown

Shine

2013

Oikos

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The success of a biological invasion can depend upon other invasions; and in some cases, an earlier invader may fail to spread until facilitated by a second invader. Our study documents a case whereby an invasive parasite has remained patchily distributed for decades due to the fragmented nature of available hosts; but the recent arrival of a broadly distributed alternative invasive host species provides an opportunity for the parasite to expand its range considerably. At least 20 years ago, endoparasitic pentastomids (Raillietiella frenata) were brought with their native host, the invasive Asian house gecko Hemidactylus frenatus, to the port city of Darwin in tropical Australia. These geckos rarely disperse away from human habitation, restricting the transmission of their parasites to urban environments – and thus, their pentastomids have remained patchily distributed and have only been recorded in scant localities, primarily surrounding Darwin. The recent range expansion of the invasive cane toad Rhinella marina into the Darwin area has provided an alternative host for this pentastomid. Our results show that the cane toad is a competent host for Ra. frenata– toads shed fully embryonated pentastomid eggs in their faeces – and that pentastomids are now common in cane toads near Darwin. Likely reflecting the tendency for the parasite's traditional definitive host (the Asian house gecko) and only known intermediate host (the cockroach) to reside around buildings, we found the prevalence of this parasite follows an urban distribution. Because cane toads are widely distributed through urban and rural habitat and can shed viable pentastomid eggs, the toad invasion is likely to facilitate the parasite's spread across the tropics, into areas (and additional susceptible hosts) that were previously inaccessible to it.

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Human pentastomiasis discovered postmortem

Cited by 37 publications

References 1 publication

Diagnosis of Human Visceral Pentastomiasis

Diagnosis of Human Visceral Pentastomiasis

Molecular Diagnosis of Abdominal Armillifer grandis Pentastomiasis in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Invasive parasites in multiple invasive hosts: the arrival of a new host revives a stalled prior parasite invasion

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