Ten fresh water fish species (Hypothalmichthys molitrix, Tilapia mossambica, Mylopharyngodon piceus, Cirrhina molitorella, Squaliobabus curriculus, Cyprinus carpio, Carassius carassius, Ophicephatus, Pluta alba, Clarias fuscus) collected from five markets in Ha Noi city: Dang Tran Con (Dong Da district), North Thanh Xuan (Thanh Xuan district), Thanh Cong (Ba Dinh district), Van Dien (Thanh Tri district), and Phung Khoang (Tu Liem district) were examined for Clonorchis metacercaria and Gnathostoma larvea. Seven species were found to be infected with Clonorchis metarcecaria and only eels (Fluta alba) infected with Gnathostoma larvae. The samples of Clonorchis sp metacercaria were identified as Clonorchis sinensis and Gnathostoma larvae as Gnathostoma spinigerum
Clonorchis sinensis ; Larva ; Gnathostoma ; fishes ; Fresh Water

3 consecutively produced lots of BCG vaccine were verified. Results showed that the filling and freeze-drying process and the quality of vaccine were met the technique requirements
Immunologic Tests ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Gnathostoma

A survey on the infection status of sparganum and Gnathostoma in frogs was carried out in 11 areas in Gyeongsangnam-do and Cheonlanam-do province, a southern part of Korea. Among 626 frogs examined, 4 percent were infected with sparganum, but none with Gnathostoma. The infection rates of sparganum were variable according to the areas. Those from Kimhae, Sunchun, Jinhae, Sachun, Kosung, Keoje, and Hadong were 16 percent, 9.1 percent, 9.1 percent, 4.1 percent, 2 percent, 2 percent, and 1.5 percent respectively, but frogs from Hapchun, KwangJu, Namwon and Sanchung were not found infected. Rana nigromaculata was the only species infected with sparganum. Rana rugosa and Bombina orientalis were not infected. Sparganum was mainly found in the legs and the trunk of frog. About 92.5 percent of worms were detected in the femoral intermuscular connective tissue. Number per infected frog was in range of one to five, and 2.8 percent of frogs were infected by only one worm. The heavier the frog weight, the higher the infection rate of sparganum. In frogs of 51-60 grams, 28.6 percent were infected.
parasitology-helminth-cestoda-nematoda ; sparganum ; Gnathostoma ; epidemiology ; frog

A coiled nematode, which was removed surgically from a Thai woman, was consulted to the authors in July 1987. She was known to suffer from meningoencephalitis since she was in Thailand. Numerous eosinophils were detected from her CSF. The worm was 12.3 mm long and 0.9 mm wide. It had a head bulb beset with eight rows of spines, a cervical constriction, esophagus, cervical sacs, dark intestine and testis. Cuticle of anterior half of the worm was covered with numerous spines. The spines at anterior part was stout and had 3-4 tips, but they became slender, shorter, single tipped and sparser and finally they disappeared posteriorly. Cuticular spines reappeared at tail which had 4 pairs of pedunculated papillae. By above morphological characteristics, the worm was identified as an adult male of Gnathostoma spinigerum. The present case is the first authentic case of imported intracranial gnathostomiasis in Korea, although clinical informations of the case were obtained limitedly.
parasitology-helminth-nematoda ; encephalitis ; gnathostomiasis ; Gnathostoma spinigerum ; case report ; Thailand

Human Gnathostoma hispidum infection is extremely rare in the world literature and has never been reported in the Republic of Korea. A 74-year-old Korean man who returned from China complained of an erythematous papule on his back and admitted to our hospital. Surgical extraction of the lesion and histopathological examination revealed sections of a nematode larva in the deep dermis. The sectioned larva had 1 nucleus in each intestinal cell and was identified as G. hispidum. The patient recalled having eaten freshwater fish when he lived in China. We designated our patient as an imported G. hispidum case from China.
Aged ; Animals ; China ; Gnathostoma/*isolation & purification/physiology ; Gnathostomiasis/*parasitology ; Humans ; Male ; Republic of Korea ; Travel

Adult gnathostomes were discovered in the stomach of the Jeju weasel, Mustela sibilica quelpartis, road-killed in Jeju-do (Province). Their morphological characters were examined to identify the species. Total 50 gnathostome adults were collected from 6 out of 10 weasels examined. In infected weasels, 4-6 worms were grouped and embedded in each granulomatous gastric tumor, except 1 weasel. Male worms were 25.0x1.4 mm in average size, and had a tail with pedunculate papillae, a spicule, and minute tegumental spines. Females were 40.0x2.5 mm in average size, and had a tail without tegumental spines. Pointed and posteriorly curved hooklets were arranged in 8-10 rows on the head bulb. Tegumental spines were distributed from behind the head bulb to the middle portion of the body. The spines were different in size and shape by the distribution level of the body surface. Fertilized eggs were 65.5x38.9 microm in average size, and had a mucoid plug at 1 pole. These gnathostomes from Jeju weasels were identified as Gnathostoma nipponicum Yamaguti, 1941. By the present study, it was confirmed for the first time that G. nipponicum is distributed in Jeju-do, the Republic of Korea, and the Jeju weasel, M. sibilica quelpartis, plays a crucial role for its definitive host.
Animals ; Female ; Gnathostoma/anatomy & histology/classification/*isolation & purification/*pathogenicity ; Male ; Mustelidae/*parasitology ; Republic of Korea ; Stomach/parasitology

Cutaneous gnathostomiasis has also been called larva migrans profundus and nodular migratory eosinophilic panniculitis. Human gnathostomiasis is caused mainly by the nematode Gnathostoma spinigerum. It causes migratory cutaneous, erythematous, indurated plaques and serious visceral sequelae. Medical treatment with mebendazole, albendazole, and ivermectin has been disappointing. Surgical excision of the parasite is the treatment of choice when possible.
Albendazole ; Eosinophils ; Gnathostoma ; Gnathostomiasis* ; Humans* ; Ivermectin* ; Larva Migrans ; Mebendazole ; Panniculitis ; Parasites

Gnathostomiasis is caused by the nematode parasite Gnathostoma spinigerum. Humans are usually infected by ingestion of inadequately cooked fish, containing larva. Gnathostomiasis is endemic in much of southeast Asia including Thailand, Japan, China and Philippines. It causes migratory cutaneous erythematous indurated plaque and serious visceral sequellae. Treatment with all kinds of antiparasitic drugs has been disappointing. The disease has not been reported in Korea. We report the first case of gnathostomiasis in a 41-year-old Korean man travelling in an endemic area.
Adult ; Antiparasitic Agents ; Asia, Southeastern ; China ; Eating ; Gnathostoma ; Gnathostomiasis* ; Humans ; Japan ; Korea ; Larva ; Parasites ; Philippines ; Thailand

Autochthonous human gnathostomiasis had never been reported in the Republic of Korea. We report here a case of Gnathostoma spinigerum infection in a 32-year-old Korean woman, presumed to have been infected via an indigenous route. The patient had experienced a painful migratory swelling near the left nasolabial fold area of the face for a year, with movement of the swelling to the mucosal area of the upper lip 2 weeks before surgical removal of the lesion. Histopathological examinations of the extracted tissue revealed inflammation with heavy eosinophilic infiltrations and sections of a nematode suggestive of a Gnathostoma sp. larva. The larva characteristically revealed about 25 intestinal cells with multiple (3-6) nuclei in each intestinal cell consistent with the 3rd-stage larva of G. spinigerum. The patient did not have any special history of travel abroad except a recent trip, 4 months before surgery, to China where she ate only cooked food. The patient is the first recorded autochthonous case of G. spinigerum infection in Korea.
Adult ; Animals ; Female ; Gnathostoma/*classification ; Gnathostomiasis/epidemiology/parasitology/*pathology/surgery ; Humans ; Republic of Korea/epidemiology

We report a case of intraocular gnathostomiasis diagnosed by western blot assay in a patient with subretinal tracks. A 15-year-old male patient complained of blurred vision in the right eye, lasting for 2 weeks. Eight months earlier, he had traveled to Vietnam for 1 week and ate raw wild boar meat and lobster. His best-corrected visual acuity was 20/20 in both eyes and anterior chamber examination revealed no abnormalities. Fundus examination showed subretinal tracks in the right eye. Fluorescein angiography and indocyanine green angiography showed linear hyperfluorescence of the subretinal lesion observed on fundus in the right eye. Ultrasound examination revealed no abnormalities. Blood tests indicated mild eosinophilia (7.5%), and there was no abnormality found by systemic examinations. Two years later, the patient visited our department again for ophthalmologic evaluation. Visual acuity remained 20/20 in both eyes and the subretinal tracks in the right eye had not changed since the previous examination. Serologic examination was performed to provide a more accurate diagnosis, and the patient's serum reacted strongly to the Gnathostoma nipponicum antigen by western blot assay, which led to a diagnosis of intraocular gnathostomiasis. This is the first reported case of intraocular gnathostomiasis with subretinal tracks confirmed serologically using western blot in Korea.
Adolescent ; Animals ; Blotting, Western ; Fundus Oculi ; Gnathostoma/*isolation & purification ; Gnathostomiasis/*diagnosis/parasitology ; Humans ; Male ; Retinal Diseases/*diagnosis/parasitology ; Travel ; Vietnam