Migratory vulvitis caused by imported gnathostomiasis

Abstract

Gnathostomiasis is an emerging disease in non-endemic countries. This zoonotic nematode requires aquatic freshwater environments to complete its life cycle where larvae get encrusted in fishes. Typically, the infection manifests as migratory subcutaneous lesion caused by the larvae trak, which produces an eosinophilic panniculitis. Here we describe a patient who presented a migratory lesion with no response to antimicrobial therapy, a careful travel and food history together with specific laboratory tests led to the correct diagnosis. Gnathostomiasis should be suspected in patients with migratory skin lesions who have consumed raw freshwater fish during travel to endemic countries in South America or Asia.