Sir,Strongyloidiasis remains a neglected tropical disease as reflected by the paucity of published literature from India.[12] We conducted a retrospective, descriptive study on thirty patients, who were diagnosed with strongyloidiasis in our hospital. The patients were diagnosed using wet mount microscopy. The majority of the patients diagnosed with strongyloidiasis were in the age group of 31–40 years (10/30, 33%). The proportion of diseased males (24/30, 80%) was significantly higher than the females (6/30, 20%). Eighteen of the thirty patients had other coexisting conditions [Table 1]. HIV infection was most commonly associated with strongyloidiasis in our study, which was in concordance with another study from our country.[3] Increasing number of cases with strongyloidiasis reported in transplant settings has encouraged recommendations for a pretransplant screening.[4] The mean number of larvae detected from the samples of immunosuppressed versus immunocompetent patients was 21.7/cover slip area and 2.9/cover slip area, respectively. There were five patients with severe manifestations and increased load of rhabditiform larvae in stool. Four of these five patients with severe manifestations had HIV infection while one was a liver transplant recipient. A definite diagnosis of hyperinfection syndrome was possible in only one of these patients in whom filariform larvae were demonstrated in the tracheal aspirate. The global increase in the number of immunosuppressed individuals coupled with the high parasitic load and severe manifestations noted in these patients suggests that there is a definite need for heightening suspicion, diagnosing early, and promptly treating these patients.
Table 1
Strongyloidiasis Cases in the Last One and Half Decade
Strongyloidiasis Cases in the Last One and Half Decade
Authors: P Chordia; S Christopher; O C Abraham; J Muliyil; G Kang; S s r Ajjampur Journal: Indian J Med Microbiol Date: 2011 Apr-Jun Impact factor: 0.985