Acute strongyloidiasis in a child recently returned from vacation in Cuba

During the trip, she diagnosis of peripheral blood eosinophilia in the returned spent most of her time at the beach, ate food provided at the resort traveller regardless of duration of stay in an endemic country. [...] The family physician • In Canada, ivermectin, the drug of choice for the treatment of ordered a complete blood cell count, and two stool samples to strongyloidiasis, can be accessed through a request to the test for ova and parasites. [...] The absence of larvae sideration of strongyloidiasis and other helminth infections from stool is insufficient to exclude infection.6 A case report of Infective stage Infective filariform larvae penetrate Diagnostic stage The filariform larvae enter the circulatory the intact skin system, are transported to the lungs, and initiating the penetrate the alveolar spaces. [...] The duration of travel that should prompt screening is contro- Strongyloides is unique among the nematodes in that autoinfec- versial.10 The Canadian national guideline on the prevention, tion can occur when larvae emerge from eggs and mature into the assessment and management of disseminated strongyloidiasis8 infectious filariform form within the host gastrointestinal tract and recommends that a. [...] Diagnosis is complicated by the considered in children with a compatible clinical syndrome limited sensitivity of serologic testing in the acute phase, even in the absence of microbiological proof of infection.