Human sparganosis in Italy. Case report and review of the European cases.

Infections with Spargana, the larvae of Spirometra spp., are rarely found in humans in Europe. So far only six cases have been discussed in the literature, four from Italy and two from France. We here report a new case in a 50-year-old workman, a freshwater sports fisherman from Bologna in Northern Italy. The infection manifested as a subcutaneous nodule in the thigh, 2x3 cm in size, slightly painful when compressed, somewhat mobile under the skin, present for 9 months, with recurrent periods of local itchiness associated with redness and slight oedema. The lump was removed surgically. Histological sections of the biopsied material revealed the presence of a sparganum. Drinking water contaminated by copepods, containing procercoid larvae of this parasite, seems to be the medium of infection.