Publication
Title
Investigations on the biology, epidemiology, pathology and control of Tunga penetrans in Brazil: IV. Clinical and histopathology
Author
Abstract
Tungiasis is a parasitic skin disease caused by the sand flea Tunga penetrans. This ectoparasitosis is endemic in South America, the Caribbean and sub-Saharan Africa, where it is an important but neglected health problem in resource-poor communities. As part of a study on tungiasis-related morbidity in a typical slum in Fortaleza, Brazil, we identified 86 individuals with tungiasis. Lesions were counted, classified according to the stage of development, and clinical pathology was documented. One hundred and nine lesions were biopsied and examined by histological sectioning. The patients had between 1 and 145 lesions (median 14.5), the majority occurring in clusters. In all, 77% of patients reported severe pain at the site of the lesion, and 52% had one or more nails lost or severely deformed. Intense inflammation and/or fissures hindered 45% of the patients from walking normally. Signs of superinfection were observed in 29%, and signs of generalised inflammation in 2% of patients. Clinical pathology was significantly related to the number of lesions, and the total number of parasites present correlated with the number of fleas occurring in clusters. Clinical pathology was frequently accompanied by a pathological alteration of the epidermis (predominantly hyperplasia, parakeratosis, hyperkeratosis, and spongiosis) and the dermis. Tungiasis causes a broad spectrum of clinical and histopathological alterations, and is a serious health threat in a typical, impoverished community in northeast Brazil. The clinical pathology is closely related to the parasite burden of an individual and the clustering of embedded fleas at certain predilection sites.
Language
English
Source (journal)
Parasitology research / Deutsche Gesellschaft für Parasitologie. - Berlin, 1987, currens
Publication
Berlin : Springer , 2004
ISSN
0932-0113 [print]
1432-1955 [online]
DOI
10.1007/S00436-004-1197-2
Volume/pages
94 :4 (2004) , p. 275-282
ISI
000224615200004
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (publisher's version - intranet only)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Publication type
Subject
Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 03.01.2013
Last edited 04.03.2024
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