Human toxocariasis: a report of nine cases

Aim: Human toxocariasis is caused by infection with the larval stage of nematode parasites of dogs and cats, Toxocara canis or Toxocara cati. These helminths are not able to complete their life cycle in undefinitive hosts and so undergo aberrant migrations in the tissues causing a wide spectrum of signs and symptoms. Eosinophilia is often severe and sometimes represents the only sign of infection, except in ocular and neurological forms. Methods: We describe the clinical features of nine children affected by toxocariasis admitted to our Infectious Diseases department from 2004 to 2006. Results: Fever and hepatomegaly were the most common clinical findings. In two cases eosinophilia was not present. Diagnosis was performed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay employing excretory–secretory antigens of Toxocara. canis larvae. All patients were successfully treated with oral albendazole with no side effects

considerazioni su un caso di actinomicosi cervicale

Actinomycosis is a bacterial infection due to Gram positive bacteria of Actinomyces genus. Actinomyces israelii is the most common in human infection.The authors described a case occurred in a 43 aged woman with a clinical presentation of a right submandibular indurative mass.After surgery, histological examination showed a granulomatous tissue with many actinomycetes. Patient was submitted to treatment with i.v penicillin. On the 11th day antibiotic therapy was replaced with ceftriaxone and teicoplanina. Patient did not present intercurrence during this period and presented improvement of the lesion.Actinomycosis is an uncommon disease. Establishment of the definite diagnosis requires a high index of suspicion in all cases of relapsing cervical lesions. Penicillin is effective and it can be replaced by third-generation cephalosporins

Sindrome nefrosica e sepsi da Gram negativi in corso di strongiloidiasi: considerazioni su un caso in immigrato imunocompetente

Strongyloidiasis is caused by a small intestinal nematode with a complex life cycle. In Italy the infection is endemic in rural areas of the Po Valley. The clinical syndrome of S. stercoralis encompasses a broad spectrum of symptoms and signs and, in the immunocompromised host, larvae can migrate to different organs and tissues. Also immune response seems to play a role in the pathogenesis of the disease. We report a case of strongyloidiasis complicated by Gram-negative sepsis and nephrotic syndrome in an immigrant from South America with a normal immune response. Whereas sepsis cleared up quickly, parasitic clearance was obtained only after treatment with ivermectin and nephrotic syndrome was still present three months after the end of treatmen

Typhoid fever as a cause of opportunistic infection: case report

BACKGROUND: Typhoid fever is a systemic infection caused by the bacterium Salmonella enterica subspecies enterica serotype typhi, which is acquired by ingestion of contaminated food and water. Each year the disease affects at least 16 million persons world-wide, most of whom reside in the developing countries of Southeast Asia and Africa. In Italy the disease is uncommon with a greater number of cases in Southern regions than in Northern ones. CASE PRESENTATION: We report on a 57-year-old Sri-Lankan male affected by typhoid fever, the onset of which was accompanied by oropharyngeal candidiasis. This clinical sign was due to a transient cell-mediated immunity depression (CD4+ cell count was 130 cells/mm(3)) probably caused by Salmonella typhi infection. Human immunodeficiency virus infection was ruled out. Diagnosis of typhoid fever was made by the isolation of Salmonella typhi from two consecutive blood cultures. The patient recovered after a ten days therapy with ciprofloxacin and his CD4+ cell count improved gradually until normalization within 3 weeks. CONCLUSION: Our patient is the first reported case of typhoid fever associated with oropharyngeal candidiasis. This finding suggests a close correlation between Salmonella typhi infection and transitory immunodepression