Strongyloidiasis with gastric mucosal invasion presenting with acute interstitial nephritis.

We report an atypical occurrence of invasive Strongyloides stercoralis infection of the stomach mucosa in an elderly female patient from Bangka Island, northwestern Indonesia. The patient presented with severe epigastric pain, edema of the legs, proteinuria and severe hypoalbuminemia. Gastric and duodenal biopsies found eggs, larval and adult forms present in the superficial mucosa with mild inflammation. The Harada-Mori filter paper culture technique revealed S. stercoralis filariform larvae and free-living adult worms, corroborating the diagnosis. The infection was associated with acute interstitial nephritis. The patient showed rapid and dramatic improvement after treatment with mebendazole.

Bartonella species in rodents and shrews in the greater Jakarta area.

In February 2004, we captured 221 rodents and shrews in the Greater Jakarta area as part of a study to determine the prevalence of rodent-associated vector-borne infections. Microscopic examination of blood smears revealed 6% (13/218) to be positive for Bartonella spp. The corresponding DNA samples, either from blood blots or frozen spleen pieces and from fleas collected on these animals, were tested for evidence of Bartonella infection by PCR, targeting the portions: 378bp and 930bp of the citrate synthase gene (g/tA). The sequences from our sample clusters with a Peruvian entity, B. phoceensis, B. rattimassiliensis and B. elizabethae, the latter species has been associated with endocarditis and neuroretinitis in humans. As previous analyses have shown, there appears to be little geographic or host consistency with phylogenetic placement. The public health significance of these findings remains to be determined.