ABSTRACT
The infection by Limnodrilus hoffmeisteri Claparède, 1862 (Oligochaeta: Tubificinae) in humans is relatively uncommon. The present report is to describe an incidental human infection with oligochaetes in the nasal cavity of a Chinese man, a 25-year-old man residing in Zhangjiakou city, Hebei province, China presenting with nose bleed, severe itching, continuous sneezing, and rhinorrhea. A lot of oligochaete worms were found in the nasal discharge of the patient. The detected worms were identified as Limnodrilus hoffmeisteri (Annelida: Oligochaeta) based on morphological and molecular characteristics. This incidental L. hoffmeisteri nasal infection is the first case in China and indicates that oligochaete worms can be encountered in humans.
Subject(s)
Adult , Humans , Asian People , China , Epistaxis , Nasal Cavity , Pruritus , SneezingABSTRACT
Se presentan dos casos de infección nasal por Hirudo medicinalis "sanguijuela medicinal". Estos gusanos se obtuvieron de las fosas nasales de dos niños, uno de ellos, del caserio Zapatero, Coñumbuqui, Lamas (San Martín, Perú) y el otro de San Francisco (Ayacucho, Perú), de 6 y 1,5 años de edad, respectivamente. El tamaño de las sanguijuelas fue de 2.5 y 6 cm. en cada uno de los casos. Las sanguijuelas tienen importancia en la salud pública por que pueden producir anemia grave, asfixia y la muerte.
We reported two human cases infected by Hirudo medicinalis (leach).They were two boys from Cuñumbuqui, Lamas (San Martín , Perú) and San Francisco ( Ayacucho, Perú). In both cases, the leaches were localized in the nostrils. The boy from San Martin was 6 years old and another from Ayacucho 1,5 years old both carried leaches of 2,5 and 6 cms long . This is the first report in Peru.