Human parasitism by Phagicola sp (Trematoda, Heterophyidae) in Cananéia, São Paulo State, Brazil

Abstract

We report one case of parasitism by Phagicola sp. (Trematoda, Heterophyidae) in a 31 year-old woman who, in 1987, travelled and stayed several months in the municipality of Cananéia (SP), where she ingested, in various occasions, raw mullet (Mugil sp.). The patient referred mild intestinal pain and laboratory examinations showed eggs of Phagicola sp. in the stools and a slight increase in eosinophil blood levels (8%). After treatment with praziquantel (75 mg/kg per day for three days) all the symptoms and signs disappeared. This is, certainly, the first record of human infection by Phagicola sp. in Brazil and, perhaps, in countries other than the U.S.A. where unclear references to a few human cases were reported in the South-eastern region.