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Gnathostoma
Published in Dongyou Liu, Handbook of Foodborne Diseases, 2018
O. Sanpool, P.M. Intapan, David Blair, Yukifumi Nawa, W. Maleewong
Genus Gnathostoma Owen, 1836 is classified in the phylum Nematoda, order Spirurida Chitwood, 1933, family Gnathostomatidae Railliet, 1895. Thirteen species are considered valid: Gnathostoma socialis Leidy, 1858; G. turgidum Stossich, 1902; G. americanum Travassos, 1925; G. procyonis Chandler, 1942; G. miyazakii Anderson, 1964; G. binucleatum Almeyda-Artigas, 1991; G. lamothei Bertoni-Ruiz et al., 2005; G. spinigerum Owen, 1836; G. hispidum Fedchenco, 1872; G. doloresi Tubangui, 1925; G. nipponicum Yamaguti, 1941; G. malaysiae Miyazaki and Dunn, 1965; and G. vietnamicum Le-Van-Hoa, 1965.4 Among these, six are in Eurasia, and seven are in the Americas. Four species in Asia and one species in Latin America are recognized as human pathogens.4Gnathostoma spinigerum is the most common species to cause human disease in Asia. Infections with G. doloresi, G. hispidum, and G. nipponicum are known primarily from Japan, although G. hispidum infection in a Korean man returning from China has also been reported.16Gnathostoma binucleatum is the only species proven to cause human gnathostomiasis in the Americas.3,4 One Japanese man was reportedly infected with G. malaysiae,17 but the species identification was inadequate, and further confirmation is necessary.
Intraocular Gongylonema Infection: First Case in Humans
Published in Ocular Immunology and Inflammation, 2018
Vanessa Waisberg, Walter dos Santos Lima, Daniel Vitor Vasconcelos-Santos
There are more than 35 species of spirurida nematode parasites in wild and domestic mammals and birds.1 It is a heteroxenous parasite, and dung beetles and cockroaches are intermediate hosts. One species, Gongylonema pulchrum, occurs in ruminants, pigs, horses, camels, cervids, rodents, bears, monkeys, and occasionally in humans. Gongylonema pulchrum is the species believed to be responsible for most human infections.2 The adult worms are found in the stomach and in the esophagus, where they burrow and migrate into the mucosa, forming a characteristic sinuous pathway.2 The females lay embryonated eggs, which pass in the feces. These eggs are then ingested by coprophagous beetles or cockroaches, in which the larvae develop to the infective stage. These larvae can emerge from cockroaches and spontaneously contaminate water.1 The cycle is completed by ingestion of the intermediate hosts, paratenic host, or by drinking contaminated water. The route of migration is not known in all animals. Human infection by these nematodes is very rare and nearly 60 cases have been reported worldwide since their discovery in the 19th century.2,3 These worms tend to localize in the oral cavity, including lips, gums, tongue, and palate; ocular infection, however, has not yet been documented.2 We report here a case of anterior uveitis associated with a dead Gongylonema in the anterior chamber (AC) of the eye of an adult man.