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Case Reports
. 2012 Mar;50(1):69-71.
doi: 10.3347/kjp.2012.50.1.69. Epub 2012 Mar 6.

Trichuris vulpis (Froelich, 1789) infection in a child: a case report

Adrian Márquez-Navarro  1 , Gudelio García-Bracamontes, Blanca E Alvarez-Fernández, Luz P Ávila-Caballero, Isabel Santos-Aranda, Dylan L Díaz-Chiguer, Rosa M Sánchez-Manzano, Elvia Rodríguez-Bataz, Benjamín Nogueda-Torres
Affiliations
Case Reports

Trichuris vulpis (Froelich, 1789) infection in a child: a case report

Adrian Márquez-Navarro et al. Korean J Parasitol. 2012 Mar.

Abstract

We present a human infection with the canine whipworm, Trichuris vulpis, in a child suffering from rhinitis with a diagnosis of rhinitis. T. vulpis eggs resemble those of T. trichiura but they can be differentiated based on their morphological features and egg size, using micrometry with an ocular micrometer. T. vulpis eggs measured an average of 90 µm by 44 µm (range 86-99 µm by 38-47 µm). Prevalence of hookworms (28.1%), Toxocara canis (11.8%), and Trichuris vulpis (3.5%) was found in 292 fecal samples of dogs collected at the peri-domicile, which showed that the risk of infection was not only fortuitous. The treatment of canine whipworm infections is similar to that of T. trichiura infection. We recommend differentiation of the 2 species for their epidemiological and prevention implications.

Keywords: Trichuris vulpis; canine whipworm; micrometry; rhinitis.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
An egg measured with an ocular micrometer (A) and adult worms (B) of Trichuris vulpis from a 9-year-old girl in Mexico.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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