Cerebral sparganosis in an East Timorese refugee.
OBJECTIVE
To report the first case of cerebral sparganosis diagnosed in Australia.


METHODS
A 23-year-old East Timorese refugee, whose diet before migration included raw snakes and frogs, presented with a generalised tonic-clonic seizure and a nine-month history of episodic left hemianaesthesia. Computerised axial tomography of the brain showed a right frontal lesion, which was excised, and histological examination demonstrated changes typical of sparganosis.


RESULTS
Excision of the lesion resulted in cure. Postoperative eosinophilia and a subcutaneous nodule presumed to be due to disseminated sparganosis resolved following a course of praziquantel.


CONCLUSIONS
Clinicians should consider the possibility of unusual parasitic infections in refugees who present with intracranial space-occupying lesions, especially those from developing countries. A dietary history may aid the diagnosis.
Munckhof
W J
WJ
Department of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Monash Medical Centre, Clayton, Vic.
Grayson
M L
ML
Susil
B J
BJ
Pullar
M J
MJ
Turnidge
J
J
D000328:Adult; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D001706:Biopsy; D001927:Brain Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012036:Refugees; D013031:Sparganosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed