A Human Case of Plagiorchis vespertilionis (Digenea: Plagiorchiidae) Infection in the Republic of Korea

Plagiorchis vespertilionis (Digenea: Plagiorchiidae) is generally considered a bat parasite, but here it is reported for the first time in a human. The patient was a 34-yr-old male who lived in a coastal village of Haenam-gun (county), Jeollanam-do (province), Republic of Korea. Only 1 worm, 2.6 mm...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of parasitology 2007-10, Vol.93 (5), p.1225-1227
Main Authors: Guk, S-M, Kim, J-L, Park, J-H, Chai, J-Y
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Animals
Bats
Biological and medical sciences
Body size
Digenea
Eggs
Feces - parasitology
Fishes - parasitology
Food Parasitology
Foodborne illnesses
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
General aspects
General aspects and techniques. Study of several systematic groups. Models
Humans
Infections
Insect larvae
Invertebrates
Korea - epidemiology
Magnesium
Male
Mollusks
Morphology
Nemathelminthia. Plathelmintha
Ova
Ovaries
Parasites
Parasitology
Patients
Plagiorchiidae
Plagiorchis
Praziquantel
Purging
RESEARCH NOTES
Salts
Smegmamorpha - parasitology
Testes
Trematoda
Trematoda - anatomy & histology
Trematoda - classification
Trematoda - isolation & purification
Trematode Infections - epidemiology
Trematode Infections - parasitology
Uterus
Villages
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Description
Summary:Plagiorchis vespertilionis (Digenea: Plagiorchiidae) is generally considered a bat parasite, but here it is reported for the first time in a human. The patient was a 34-yr-old male who lived in a coastal village of Haenam-gun (county), Jeollanam-do (province), Republic of Korea. Only 1 worm, 2.6 mm long and 0.7 mm wide, was recovered after praziquantel treatment and purging with magnesium salts. The fluke was characterized by a large body size, a sucker ratio of 1:1, a straight cirrus organ, a short distance between the ventral sucker and ovary, well-developed vitellaria, a uterus with descending and ascending loops, and fully developed eggs with an average size of 32.5 × 17.5 μm. The patient had habitually eaten the raw flesh of snakehead mullet and gobies that had been caught near his village. The present case represents the first record of a human P. vespertilionis infection.
ISSN:0022-3395
1937-2345
DOI:10.1645/GE-1098R.1