Pennsylvania woman contracts parasitic hookworm that usually infects dogs and cats
POSTMEDIA NETWORK
First posted: Friday, April 28, 2017 12:33 PM EDT | Updated: Friday, April 28, 2017 12:51 PM EDT
We’ve all experienced that “creepy-crawly” sensation beneath the skin.
But a Pennsylvania woman literally had something crawling beneath her's.
The 45-year-old developed a raised, itchy rash on her knee earlier this month, just weeks after returning from a Caribbean holiday.
The irritation was red in appearance and resembled a snake-like tunnel system beneath her skin, as seen on a photo posted to Live Science.
Doctors in Philadelphia believe the woman was infected by a parasitic hookworm that almost exclusively feasts on canines and felines, leaving tunnel-like marks as it slithers beneath the skin.
The condition – called cutaneous larva migrans – resulted from hookworm species Ancylostoma braziliense or Ancylostoma caninum, according to a report published in The Journal of Emergency Medicine.
Humans aren't “definitive hosts” for the parasite because our immune system eventually eliminates the parasite, according Dr. Chaiya Laoteppitaks, a physician at Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia, who spoke with Live Science.
In animals, though, hookworm eggs are excreted through feces before larva eventually find another host.
The woman was provided with antiparasitic medications and is doing well, according to the report.
(Elsevier Inc.)
Pennsylvania woman contracts parasitic hookworm that usually infects dogs and ca
POSTMEDIA NETWORK
First posted: Friday, April 28, 2017 12:33 PM EDT | Updated: Friday, April 28, 2017 12:51 PM EDT
We’ve all experienced that “creepy-crawly” sensation beneath the skin.
But a Pennsylvania woman literally had something crawling beneath her's.
The 45-year-old developed a raised, itchy rash on her knee earlier this month, just weeks after returning from a Caribbean holiday.
The irritation was red in appearance and resembled a snake-like tunnel system beneath her skin, as seen on a photo posted to Live Science.
Doctors in Philadelphia believe the woman was infected by a parasitic hookworm that almost exclusively feasts on canines and felines, leaving tunnel-like marks as it slithers beneath the skin.
The condition – called cutaneous larva migrans – resulted from hookworm species Ancylostoma braziliense or Ancylostoma caninum, according to a report published in The Journal of Emergency Medicine.
Humans aren't “definitive hosts” for the parasite because our immune system eventually eliminates the parasite, according Dr. Chaiya Laoteppitaks, a physician at Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia, who spoke with Live Science.
In animals, though, hookworm eggs are excreted through feces before larva eventually find another host.
The woman was provided with antiparasitic medications and is doing well, according to the report.
(Elsevier Inc.)
Pennsylvania woman contracts parasitic hookworm that usually infects dogs and ca
