1Associate Professor, Gauhati Medical College, Guwahati, Assam, India
2Professor and Head, Department of Microbiology, Gauhati Medical College, Guwahati, Assam, India
3Assistant Professor, Department of Microbiology, Saraswathi Institute of Medical Sciences, Anwarpur, Uttar Pradesh
Online published on 9 May, 2014.
Cutaneous larva migrans (CLM) or creeping eruption (also called ground itch) refers to the production of serpiginous inflammed trails in the skin, resulting in intense pruritus. It is an uncommon parasitic skin infection caused by larvae of various nonhuman species of Ancylostoma and other nematodes. Human can pick up the infection by walking barefoot on soil or sandy beaches contaminated with animal faeces. Here, we report a case of cutaneous larva migrans affecting the whole trunk in a 65 year old man who is a farmer by occupation. The diagnosis was made on the basis of clinical features and biopsy of the skin. Erythematous, serpiginous, pruritic, cutaneous eruptions were found. A nematode larva could be detected in the vesicular fluid and histopathological examination of skin showed superficial and mid perivascular and interstitial infiltrate of numerous eosinophils constituent with larva migrans. Though CLM is a self limited dermatosis, the discomfort caused due to intense pruritus, eczematization and the risk for secondary bacterial infection necessitate treatment of the cases.
Cutaneous Larva Migrans, Creeping Eruption, Nematode
