A British Second World War veteran with disseminated strongyloidiasis.
A case is described of a 78-year-old British veteran of the Second World War (1939-45) who was stationed in Southeast Asia and who developed a recurrent pneumonia with blood eosinophilia. He was treated with steroids, and eventually died with a severe Pseudomonas pneumonia. Just prior to death, larvae of Strongyloides stercoralis were identified in his sputum, and a specific serum ELISA test was later positive. At autopsy no other organs were involved, but bronchoalveolar carcinoma was found. Longstanding (57 years) chronic strongyloidiasis in a veteran who served in Southeast Asia but who was not a prisoner of war is very unusual. The pattern of dissemination was also not that of a true hyperinfection syndrome, and the case demonstrates the continued need for diagnostic vigilance amongst former soldiers who were based in the Far East.
Gill
G V
GV
Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Pembroke Place, Liverpool L3 5QA, UK. g.gill@liv.ac.uk
Beeching
N J
NJ
Khoo
S
S
Bailey
J W
JW
Partridge
S
S
Blundell
J W
JW
Luksza
A R
AR
D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D002908:Chronic Disease; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013183:Sputum / Q000469:parasitology; D017171:Strongyloides stercoralis / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D013322:Strongyloidiasis / Q000175:diagnosis*; D014195:Travel; D014728:Veterans; D014857:Warfare