Gnathostomatoidea

To go along with the lovely larva currens of Strogyloides infections and the CLM of Ancylostoma, we have Gnathostomatoidea! This helminth comes in two sub types - hispidium (commonly found in pigs) and spinigerum (found in cats and dogs). We're not this worm's preferred host - they'd much rather be in animals. However, we can ingest them accidentally. These worms go from their preferred hosts to being little eggs in the soil, which only hatch once they are in water. These are then ingested by copepods, or small crustaceans. What the larva are hoping will happen is that the copepods will be eaten by fish, and then eaten by something else, so that they can eventually get back to their preferred host to start the cycle all over again.

But what happens when we eat the copepod, or even the fish, that the larva are living in? The larva has no idea what to do, because, as it so happens, our insides are quite different from pigs and cats and dogs. This results in the larva migrating around the body. When it comes to the skin surface, it causes large red swellings that seem to migrate around the body, forming, disappearing, then re-appearing somewhere else. Problems can occur when the worm dives into the body - it can cause severe problems in any organ it enters, which might include the brain, which can cause eosiniphilic meningitis.

                                               Photo Credit: http://www.medicine.cmu.ac.th/

This problem was first seen in Asia, but is more frequently being found in Central and South America. This may be because cerviche made with freshwater fish, as opposed to saltwater, is becoming more economical. This particular helminth only lives in freshwater fish, making the connection likely. Treatment is done with Albendazole or Ivermectin, but the worm is apparently quite difficult to kill. You can also try to surgically remove the worm.