Human Enteric Infection with Canine Hookworms

Abstract

Human enteric infections with A. caninum are being diagnosed more frequently in northeastern Australia. Although infection may be subclinical, the chief symptom is abdominal pain, sometimes sudden and severe. The pathologic finding is focal or diffuse eosinophilic inflammation caused by a type 1 hypersensitivity response to secreted antigens. Infection by sexually immature worms is scant and nonpatent, indicating poor adaptation to the human host. Serologic testing assists in identification of occult infection. Advanced hygiene and sanitation afford little protection because the parasite reservoir is a large and growing pool of infected domestic pets.

Emerging helminth zoonoses

“…In 1988 33 cases were reported from Queensland [25], and an additional 60 cases were reported in 1990 [24]. In two of the patients, a juvenile adult A. caninum was identi®ed, suggesting that this helminth is the aetiological agent of eosinophilic enteritis [26]. Subsequently, when enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and Western blot study using ES antigens from adult A. caninum was undertaken on 233 persons with either eosinophilic enteritis or abdominal pain (with and without eosinophilia), all 233 clinical cases tested positive by Western blot, compared with 10% of controls [27].…”

“…In addition to facilitating clinical diagnosis, it would also enable study of seroprevalence, and if warranted a comprehensive strategy for surveillance and control. While some progress has been made [26], the performance of the ELISA using ES antigens from adult A. caninum has yet to attain satisfactory levels. A recently described Western blot for detection of IgG4 antibodies to an immunodominant ES antigen (Ac68) from the parasite has demonstrated improved sensitivity and speci®-city, 75 and 100%, respectively [31].…”

“…Furthermore, since A. caninum has an almost worldwide distribution, it would be expected that A. caninum-induced eosinophilic enteritis infection should not be limited to Australia. As of this writing only isolated case reports exist of enteric human infection due to A. caninum in South America, the Philippines, Israel and the US [26,30].…”

Intestinal obstruction by eosinophilic jejunitis

“…It usually resembles and is managed as an acute appendicitis. The diagnosis is established during surgery (11)(12)(13)(14)(15).…”

Assessment of fecal parasitism for decision making in continued deworming of slum stray dogs in Nairobi areas of Kenya

“…Strays may also include the quasi-owned animals that are cared for or considered to belong to the "neighbourhood" (Childs et al, 1998). Stray dogs pose several public health risks and concerns to humans, such as rabies (Reyers et al, 1998;Crosby, 2011), toxocariasis and ancylostomiasis (Croese et al, 1994;Prociv and Croese 1996;Singla et al, 2005;Chen et al, 2012), hydatidosis (Buishi et al, 2006), acquired epilepsy due to neurocysticercosis (Sharma et al, 2011), leishmaniasis, borreliosis, bartonellosis, ehrlichiosis, rickettsiosis (Day, 2011;Singla et al, 2011), and schistosomiasis (Hackett and Lappin, 2003).…”