Monitoring treatment of Taenia solium- neurocysticercosis by detection of circulating antigens: a case report.

Background: Parenchymal neurocysticercosis is a frequent cause of seizures in areas endemic for Taenia solium. At present there is scarce data on the evolution of the levels of circulating metacestodal antigen before, during and after treatment with anthelmintic drugs.

Case Presentation: A patient with paucisymptomatic neurocysticercosis (NCC) diagnosed by Ag-ELISA, and confirmed by MRI images, was treated with praziquantel, albendazole and dexamethasone.

Toxocariasis diagnosed in international travelers at the Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium, from 2000 to 2013.

Although infection with Toxocara canis or T. catis (commonly referred as toxocariasis) appears to be highly prevalent in (sub)tropical countries, information on its frequency and presentation in returning travelers and migrants is scarce. In this study, we reviewed all cases of asymptomatic and symptomatic toxocariasis diagnosed during post-travel consultations at the reference travel clinic of the Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium.

Systemic anaplastic large cell lymphoma presenting with cutaneous manifestations in a young man: a case report.

Skin lesions can be a sign of internal disease. When they are associated with persisting systemic signs, the possibility of an internal malignancy should always be considered. We describe a 25-year-old man who presented with weight loss, fatigue, subpyrexia, xerostomia and skin rash of 6 months duration.

A traveler with neurobrucellosis.

An Indian traveler developed fever and neurological symptoms after a visit to East Africa. He was treated with suramin, melarsoprol and prednisolone for presumed East African trypanosomiasis. His condition deteriorated and cerebral lesions developed.

The clinical spectrum of Exophiala jeanselmei, with a case report and in vitro antifungal susceptibility of the species.

Exophiala jeanselmei is clinically redefined as a rare agent of subcutaneous lesions of traumatic origin, eventually causing eumycetoma. Mycetoma is a localized, chronic, suppurative subcutaneous infection of tissue and contiguous bone after a traumatic inoculation of the causative organism. In advanced stages of the infection, one finds tumefaction, abscess formation and draining sinuses.

Pharmacotherapy of helminth infection.

Background: In the first decade of the 21st century, worm infections are still very common, especially--but not exclusively--in the developing world.

Objective: To review the current pharmacotherapy of the major trematode, cestode and nematode infections of humans.

Methods: A systematic search of the Cochrane Databank of Controlled Trials and PubMed with MeSH terms (anthelmint(*) or treatment or therapy) and (cestoda or trematoda or nematoda or specific helminth species or specific medication).

Eosinophilic meningitis due to Angiostrongylus cantonensis in a Belgian traveller.

Eosinophilic meningitis is a rare clinical entity. The most frequent cause in travellers to the tropics is infection with the rat lungworm Angiostrongylus cantonensis. In this report, we describe a case of eosinophilic meningitis due to infection with this nematode in a traveller who presented with slight headache, diarrhoea, general malaise and thoracic radicular pain after a trip through Latin America and the Fiji Islands.

Selective ambulatory management of imported falciparum malaria: a 5-year prospective study.

The ambulatory management of imported Plasmodium falciparum malaria is controversial because criteria for safe selection of patients are imprecise. The aim of the present study was to investigate the evolution and outcome of patients diagnosed with Plasmodium falciparum malaria at a Belgian referral institute in order to assess the safety of the institute's current selective ambulatory management protocol. From 2000 to 2005, all patients diagnosed with P.

Fever after a stay in the tropics: diagnostic predictors of the leading tropical conditions.

Differential diagnosis of fever in travelers returning from the tropics is extremely diverse. Apart from the travel destination, other diagnostic predictors of tropical infections are poorly documented in returning travelers. From April 2000 to December 2005, we prospectively enrolled all patients presenting at our referral centers with fever within 1 year after visiting a tropical or subtropical area.

Etiology and outcome of fever after a stay in the tropics.

Background: Information on epidemiology and prognosis of imported fever is scarce and almost exclusively limited to hospital settings.

Methods: From 2000 to 2005, all travelers presenting at our referral outpatient and inpatient centers with ongoing fever within 12 months after a stay in the tropics were prospectively followed. Case definitions and treatment were based on international recommendations.

Infectious mononucleosis-like syndromes in febrile travelers returning from the tropics.

Infectious mononucleosis (IM), resulting from Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection, and IM-like syndromes, mainly due to cytomegalovirus (CMV), Toxoplasma gondii, or human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), have been occasionally reported in travelers returning from the tropics. Our objective was to investigate the prevalence, outcome, and diagnostic predictors of these syndromes in febrile travelers. Between April 2000 and March 2005, all febrile travelers and migrants presenting at our referral centers within 12 months after a tropical stay were prospectively included.

Imported non-Plasmodium falciparum malaria: a five-year prospective study in a European referral center.

From 2000 to 2005, we investigated prospectively 98 cases of imported non-Plasmodium falciparum malaria (48 Plasmodium vivax, 34 P. ovale, and 16 P. malariae).

Imported Katayama fever: clinical and biological features at presentation and during treatment.

Objectives: To investigate the characteristics of imported Katayama fever (acute schistosomiasis) as well as evolution and outcome under treatment.

Methods: Between April 2000 and September 2004, we included prospectively all patients with confirmed diagnosis of Katayama fever. Follow-up was maintained at least until 6 months after symptoms resolved.

The hypereosinophilic syndrome after residence in a tropical country: report of 4 cases.

Severe eosinophilia may be complicated by acute or chronic visceral damage. The underlying origin of the hypereosinophilia may be infectious, allergic, toxic, malignant or systemic (the secondary or reactive hypereosinophilic syndrome), but in a number of cases no cause can be found (the idiopathic hypereosinophilic syndrome). We describe 4 cases with hypereosinophilia and secondary visceral damage after residence in a tropical region.

Hyperreactive malaria in expatriates returning from sub-Saharan Africa.

The extreme presentation of hyperreactive malaria is hyperreactive malarial splenomegaly syndrome (HMS). Some patients present with a less pronounced syndrome. To investigate whether the degree of splenomegaly correlates with the degree of immune stimulation, whether prophylaxis or recent treatment play a role, and whether short therapy alone is effective, we examined retrospectively the medical records of expatriates with exposure to P.

Organization of patient care during the Ebola hemorrhagic fever epidemic in Kikwit, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 1995.

In contrast with procedures in previous Ebola outbreaks, patient care during the 1995 outbreak in Kikwit, Democratic Republic of the Congo, was centralized for a large number of patients. On 4 May, before the diagnosis of Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF) was confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an isolation ward was created at Kikwit General Hospital. On 11 May, an international scientific and technical committee established as a priority the improvement of hygienic conditions in the hospital and the protection of health care workers and family members; to this end, protective equipment was distributed and barrier-nursing techniques were implemented.

Ebola hemorrhagic fever in Kikwit, Democratic Republic of the Congo: clinical observations in 103 patients.

During the 1995 outbreak of Ebola hemorrhagic fever in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a series of 103 cases (one-third of the total number of cases) had clinical symptoms and signs accurately recorded by medical workers, mainly in the setting of the urban hospital in Kikwit. Clinical diagnosis was confirmed retrospectively in cases for which serum samples were available (n = 63, 61% of the cases). The disease began unspecifically with fever, asthenia, diarrhea, headaches, myalgia, arthralgia, vomiting, and abdominal pain.

Recurrence of blackwater fever: triggering of relapses by different antimalarials.

Five cases of blackwater fever (BWF) are described, all of whom had a history of recent quinine therapy. In two cases a second haemolytic crisis was induced by halofantrine, in one case also a third. Increasing frequency of this syndrome with its dramatic clinical presentation is to be expected as imported P.

Kabisa: an interactive computer-assisted training program for tropical diseases.

In Europe, tropical pathology is usually taught in special short courses, intended for those planning to practise in developing countries. The theoretical knowledge to be assimilated during this short period is considerable, and turning such newly acquired knowledge into competence is difficult. Kabisa is a computer-based training program for tropical diseases.