BackgroundTungiasis is a parasitic skin disease caused by penetrating female sand fleas. By nature, tungiasis is a self-limiting infection. However, in endemic settings re-infection is the rule and parasite load gradually accumulates over time. Intensity of infection and degree of morbidity are closely related.Methodology/principal findingsThis case series describes the medical history, the clinical pathology, the socio-economic and the environmental characteristics of very severe tungiasis in five patients living in traditional Amerindian communities in the Amazon lowland of Colombia. Patients had between 400 and 1,300 penetrated sand fleas. The feet were predominantly affected, but clusters of embedded sand fleas also occurred at the ankles, the knees, the elbows, the hands, the fingers and around the anus. The patients were partially or totally immobile. Patients 1 and 3 were cachectic, patient 2 presented severe malnutrition. Patient 3 needed a blood transfusion due to severe anemia. All patients showed a characteristic pattern of pre-existing medical conditions and culture-dependent behavior facilitating continuous re-infection. In all cases intradomiciliary transmission was very likely.Conclusion/significanceAlthough completely ignored in the literature, very severe tungiasis occurs in settings where patients do not have access to health care and are stricken in a web of pre-existing illness, poverty and neglect. If not treated, very severe tungiasis may end in a fatal disease course.

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The objectives of the study were to estimate the prevalence of different clinical signs of trachoma and identify possible factors associated with TF. Methodology Following the approval of the study protocol by the ethics committee, a cross-sectional study was conducted in Vaupé s, a department of the Colombian Amazon, between the years 2012 and 2013 in two districts. Based on the records obtained from a standardized format for the clinical evaluation of the participants and the factors associated with follicular trachoma, an excel database was built and debugged, which was analyzed using IBM SPSS, Statistics Version 23 and Stata STATA (Version 14, 2015, StataCorp LLC, Texas, USA). Results The records of 13,091 individuals was collected from 216 rural indigenous communities, of which 12,080 were examined (92.3%); 7,274 in the Western and 4,806 in the Eastern districts. A prevalence of trachomatous inflammation-follicular (TF) of 21.7% (n = 599; 95% CI 20.2-23.3) in the Western and 24.9% (n = 483; 95% CI 23.1-26.9) in the Eastern district was found in children aged 1 to 9 years. Regarding trachomatous trichiasis (TT), 77 cases were found, of which 14 belonged to the Western district (prevalence 0.3%, CI 95% 0.2-0.5) and 63 to the Eastern district (1.8%, CI 95% 1.4-2.4). Children aged between 1 to 9 years were significantly more likely to have TF when there was the presence of secretions on the face (OR: 3.2; 95% CI: 2.6-3.9).

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