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
Case Reports
. 2025 Feb 20:13:1119.
doi: 10.12688/f1000research.155856.3. eCollection 2024.

Case Report: Hymenolepis diminuta in an asymptomatic Ecuadorian child

Affiliations
Case Reports

Case Report: Hymenolepis diminuta in an asymptomatic Ecuadorian child

Zulbey Rivero de Rodriguez et al. F1000Res. .

Abstract

Background: The cestode Hymenolepis diminuta is a cosmopolitan parasite, which in the adult stage is usually found in the small intestine of rats and accidentally in humans.

Case report: We describe the finding of eggs of this parasite in an asymptomatic 3-year-old child. The child had extremely high IgE values of 1,376 IU/ml. After receiving treatment with Albendazole suspension 400mg/20mL, on the 10th day post-treatment, he showed no H. diminuta eggs in his fecal matter.

Conclusions: Detailed morphological review of Hymenolepis nana-like eggs is recommended to distinguish them from H. diminuta eggs.

Keywords: Child; Ecuador; Hymenolepis diminuta; Preschool; asymptomatic condition.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

No competing interests were disclosed.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.. (A) H. diminuta eggs at 100 × magnification, physiological saline; (B) Eggs of H. diminuta at 400 × magnification, physiological saline.

References

    1. Roberts JJ, Schmidt G, Larry S: Roberts’Foundations of Parasitology. 8th ed. McGraw-Hill;2009;701.
    1. Rivero ZC, Villalobos R, Bracho A, et al. : Infección por Hymenolepis diminuta en un niño del municipio Maracaibo, estado Zulia, Venezuela. Rev. Soc. Venez. Microbiol. 2009;29:133–135.
    1. Martínez-Barbabosa I, Gutiérrez-Cárdenas M, Aguilar-Venegas J, et al. : Infección por Hymenolepis diminuta en una estudiante universitaria. Rev. Biomed. 2012;23:61–64.
    1. Shostak A: Hymenolepis diminuta infections in tenebrionid beetles as a model system for ecological interactions between helminth parasites and terrestrial intermediate hosts: A review and meta-analysis. J. Parasitol. 2014;100(1):46–58. 10.1645/13-347.1 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Cáceres I, Guillén Z: Insectos de Lima relacionados con el cisticercoide de Hymenolepis diminuta (Rudolphi, 1819), (Cestoda: Hymenolepididae). Rev. Per. Entom. 1972;15(1):142–147.

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources