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Baylisascaris
Epidemiology:
- eggs are passed in feces & become active within a month
- they can remain viable in the environment for years, withstanding heat & cold
- humans & other animals become infested by:
- ingesting the eggs
- eating another animal infested with Baylisascaris
- microscopic larvae hatch in the intestine & invade the intestinal wall
- if they are in their definitive host they develop for several weeks, then enter the intestinal lumen, mature, mate, & produce eggs, which are shed in the feces
- if the larvae are in a paratenic host, they invade the bloodstream & enter various organs, particularly the central nervous system
Pathology:
- response of the paratenic host to the invading larvae involvings walling it off or killing it
- collateral damage to tissue occurs
- see Baylisacaris procyonis
Clinical manifestations:
- see Baylisacaris procyonis
Laboratory:
- microscopic examinaton of affected tissue
- Baylisascaris IgG in serum
Management:
- see Baylisacaris procyonis
Specific
Baylisascaris procyonis
General
Ascaridoidea (Anisakidae, Anisakis, Pseudoterranova, Ascaridia, Ascaris)
Properties
KINGDOM: animal
PHYLUM: helminth
References
- Wikipedia: Baylisascaris
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baylisascaris
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
DPDx: Parasites and Health: Baylisascaris
http://dpd.cdc.gov/dpdx/html/Baylisascariasis.htm
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Parasites - Baylisascaris infection
http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/baylisascaris/
- Huff DS et al
Case 4 the First Fatal Baylisascaris Infection in Humans:
An Infant with Eosinophilic Meningoencephalitis
Fetal & Pediatric Pathology 1984, 2(3):345-352
http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.3109/15513818409022268