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. 2023 Jul 3;10(7):ofad338.
doi: 10.1093/ofid/ofad338. eCollection 2023 Jul.

Unexpected Loa loa Finding in an Asymptomatic Patient From The Gambia: A Case Report

Begoña Treviño  1   2 , Francesc Zarzuela  3 , Inés Oliveira-Souto  1   2 , Carles Rubio Maturana  3 , Núria Serre-Delcor  1   2 , Maria L Aznar  1   2 , Diana Pou  1   2 , Lidia Goterris  3 , Fernando Salvador  1   2 , Pau Bosch-Nicolau  1   2 , José M Rubio  2   4 , Edurne Ruiz  3 , Israel Molina  1   2 , Elena Sulleiro  2   3
Affiliations

Unexpected Loa loa Finding in an Asymptomatic Patient From The Gambia: A Case Report

Begoña Treviño et al. Open Forum Infect Dis. .

Abstract

A 17-year-old asymptomatic male from The Gambia presented for a routine health examination after migration to Spain. Laboratory diagnosis confirmed the presence of Loa loa microfilariae. This unusual finding emphasizes the importance of screening in newly arrived migrants and the need of an extended anamnesis including migratory route and previous travels.

Keywords: Chrysops; Loa loa; The Gambia; epidemiology; loiasis.

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Conflict of interest statement

Potential conflicts of interest. All authors: the authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Patient's travel history. Patient displacement in year 2012 (Cameroon and Senegal) and patient displacement in year 2022 (Spain / Barcelona and Tenerife) were represented. Ship and plane illustrations represent the transport vehicle of the displacement.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
A, Loa loa microfilarial morphology by the Ho-Thi Sang leuko-concentration technique. The microfilarial sheath is visible (arrow). B, Modified hematoxylin Gill stain. Visualization of L loa microfilarial morphology: presence of terminal, irregular, and overlapped somatic nuclei (arrow). Tapered posterior extremity with terminal nuclei. C, Cephalic space and sheath (arrows) of L loa microfilariae with modified hematoxylin Gill staining. D, Uncolored L loa sheath observed by Giemsa staining (10%).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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