Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2013 May 20:6:200.
doi: 10.1186/1756-0500-6-200.

Strongyloides stercoralis is a cause of abdominal pain, diarrhea and urticaria in rural Cambodia

Virak Khieu  1 , Sophanaroth Srey, Fabian Schär, Sinuon Muth, Hanspeter Marti, Peter Odermatt
Affiliations

Strongyloides stercoralis is a cause of abdominal pain, diarrhea and urticaria in rural Cambodia

Virak Khieu et al. BMC Res Notes. .

Abstract

Background: We document clinical manifestations of 21 patients heavily infected with S. stercoralis (more than 250 larvae in a single Baermann test) from a community in rural Cambodia, both before and three weeks after ivermectin (200 μg/kg BW, single oral dose) treatment.

Findings: Out of 21 patients, 20 (95.2%), 18 (85.7%) and 14 (66.7%) reported frequent abdominal pain, diarrhea and periods of sensation of itching, respectively, during the previous six months; epigastric (11, 55.0%) and peri-umbilical (13, 65.0%) pains were most frequent. Five patients (23.8%) reported having experienced urticaria the week preceding the examination. One patient suffered from extended urticaria. Three weeks after treatment, most symptoms had been almost entirely resolved.

Conclusions: In rural communities of Cambodia, strongyloidiasis with high parasite load is endemic. It is associated with substantial symptoms and clinical signs, particularly abdominal pain, diarrhea and urticaria. Access to adequate diagnosis and treatment is a pressing issue that needs attention.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Mating adult Strongyloides stercoralis observed on Koga agar plate culture.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Extended dermatitis on back (a) and abdomen (b) in 43 years old farmer.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Bethony J, Brooker S, Albonico M, Geiger SM, Loukas A, Diemert D, Hotez PJ. Soil-transmitted helminth infections: ascariasis, trichuriasis, and hookworm. Lancet. 2006;367(9521):1521–1532. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(06)68653-4. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Olsen A, van Lieshout L, Marti H, Polderman T, Polman K, Steinmann P, Stothard R, Thybo S, Verweij JJ, Magnussen P. Strongyloidiasis–the most neglected of the neglected tropical diseases? Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 2009;103(10):967–972. doi: 10.1016/j.trstmh.2009.02.013. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Hall A, Conway DJ, Anwar KS, Rahman ML. Strongyloides stercoralis in an urban slum community in Bangladesh: factors independently associated with infection. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 1994;88(5):527–530. doi: 10.1016/0035-9203(94)90146-5. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Foreman EB, Abraham PJ, Garland JL. Not your typical strongyloides infection: a literature review and case study. South Med J. 2006;99(8):847–852. doi: 10.1097/01.smj.0000203813.70054.3c. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Fardet L, Genereau T, Poirot JL, Guidet B, Kettaneh A, Cabane J. Severe strongyloidiasis in corticosteroid-treated patients: case series and literature review. J Infect. 2007;54(1):18–27. doi: 10.1016/j.jinf.2006.01.016. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types