We report the case of a 28-year-old Spanish male institutionalized in prison since December 2009 with no history of interest except bronchial asthma treated with inhaled bronchodilators.
Prior to his admission to prison, he settled in northeastern Brazil, Ceará, from March 2008 to August 2009, in suburban areas ("favelas").
During his stay in Brazil he reported having consumed tap water and fresh salads and having barefoot by mud.
He also reported having suffered a self-limiting diarrhea of unknown origin.
Twelve months after admission to prison, the patient developed a general syndrome characterized by progressive asthenia and weight loss of 10 kg, accompanied by dizziness, occasional headache and dyspeptic sensation.
She presented two episodes of liquid diarrhea, accompanied by abdominal pain and without the presence of pathological products.
Examination revealed only marked paleness of the skin and mucous membranes.
Laboratory tests showed a hemoglobin of 9.4 gr/dL, a hematocrit of 29.3%, a mean corpuscular volume of 65fL, leukocytes of 10,900/mm3 (eosinophils, 2.33).
Serology for HIV, hepatitis B and C were negative.
She was referred for admission to her reference hospital, where complete biochemistry, including liver function tests and chest X-ray, showed no abnormalities.
Fecal challenge tests were performed on 3 consecutive samples using the etherformol concentration method, identifying uncinar eggs.
Stercoralis infection was positive by ELISA with a 0.6 optical density unit titration.
Treatment with albendazole 400 mg/12 hours (d.u) and iverte 200 micrograms/Kg/day was initiated two consecutive days together with oral ferric sulfate for 3 months.
Three months after the treatment, all the parasitological parameters became negative, both in the stool analysis and in the intestinal manifestations recovery.
