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Molecular Diagnosis of Subcutaneous Spirometra erinaceieuropaei Sparganosis in a Japanese Immigrant

2012; American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene; Volume: 88; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.4269/ajtmh.2012.12-0406

1476-1645

Dennis Tappe, L. Berger, Alexandra Haeupler, Birgit Muntau, Paul Rácz, Yves Harder, Katja Specht, Clarissa Prazeres da Costa, Sven Poppert,

Parasites and Host Interactions

We report a case of subcutaneous sparganosis in a 68-year-old female Japanese immigrant in Germany. The patient complained of a painless erythema caudal of the umbilicus with a palpable subcutaneous cherry-sized lump. Polymerase chain reaction on formalin-fixed parasite tissue identified Spirometra erinaceieuropaei as the causative agent; the proliferative form of sparganosis, which is caused by the branching and disseminating Sparganum proliferum , could, thus, be excluded. From the excised sparganum, an immunofluorescence test was established and revealed an antibody response directed against the parasite's tegument. Histological key features of the plerocercoid that facilitate diagnosis with different stains are presented.