Case of the Week 706

Happy New Year! I thought I ' d kick off the year with a fascinating and enigmatic parasite that can cause very rare but devastating disease in humans. The patient is a man in his late 30 ' s who presented with 8 years of progressive weakness, significant weight loss (>30 kg), dysphagia, and dysphonia. His creatine kinase levels were elevated and he had peripheral eosinophilia. He was previously healthy prior to the onset of symptoms, but was wheel-chair bound on presentation. The patient had spent a significant amount of time in the bush regions of coastal northern Queensland, Australia.Muscle biopsy revealed muscle damage and extensive accompanying lymphoplasmacytic and granulomatous inflammation, as well as the rare parasites within muscle fibers.Inflammation and muscle damage:Parasites (click on images to enlarge and see the diagnostic detail):Identification? What is your differential diagnosis?
Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites - Category: Parasitology Source Type: blogs