Fatal Eosinophilic Meningoencephalitis and Visceral Larva Migrans Caused by the Raccoon Ascarid<i>Baylisascaris procyonis</i>

Abstract

VISCERAL larva migrans is a subacute inflammatory disease characterized by hepatomegaly, eosinophilia, and hypergammaglobulinemia and due to the larval migration in human beings of nematodes normally parasitic in lower animals.1 , 2 Most cases in the United States occur in young children and are caused by the dog ascarid Toxocara canis.3 A fatal outcome and central nervous system involvement are rare.3 Ingestion of soil contaminated by infective eggs is the usual mode of acquisition. A specific parasite can be identified with certainty, however, only by morphometric analysis of larvae in tissue specimens, so the recent development of serodiagnostic tests for T. . . .