Elsevier

Journal of Infection

Volume 60, Issue 3, March 2010, Pages 244-247
Journal of Infection

Case report
New insights in diagnosing Schistosoma myelopathy

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinf.2009.12.002Get rights and content

Summary

At present non-invasive tests for diagnosing Schistosoma myelopathy are sub-optimal. We present a novel serological method, using paired liquor and serum samples, resulting in the diagnosis of Schistosoma myelopathy in a male patient with proximal muscle weakness. The patient recovered after praziquantel treatment.

Section snippets

Case description

A 35 year-old male presented to the emergency department with progressive pain and muscle weakness in the upper legs. His past medical history was unremarkable except from a Human Papilloma Virus infection for which he had been treated. The patient was originally from Brazil, but he had lived in the Netherlands for seven years. In his youth, he frequently sailed at a lake near São Paulo. Two months prior to presentation, he suffered from diarrhea during a visit to Brazil. The pain in his legs

Discussion

Schistosomiasis is a tropical disease caused by parasitic flatworms of the genus Schistosoma. Infection occurs by skin penetration during contact with contaminated fresh-water, after which adult worms develop in the blood vessels surrounding the gut or bladder (see1 for details). Female worms produce hundreds of eggs per day, most of which are excreted in the faeces or urine but some get trapped in host tissues. Schistosoma myelopathy (SM) refers to neurological symptoms caused by an

Acknowledgements

R. Koelewijn is thanked for expert serological analysis for Schistosoma and A.G.M. Tielens is thanked for critical reading of the manuscript. None of the authors received financial support related to this paper, and therefore, no conflict of interest exists.

References (11)

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