Lack of evidence for Toxocara infection in Italian myelitis patients.

Acute myelitis is a common neurological manifestation due to different causes, but in about 15-30% of cases its etiology remains unknown (idiopathic myelitis). Myelitis represents the most common manifestation of neurotoxocariasis, the infection of the human nervous system by larvae of the nematode Toxocara spp.; however, despite the high seroprevalence worldwide, its contribution to the burden of disease has not been assessed. We evaluated the presence of antibodies against Toxocara spp. in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from a sample of 28 patients with a diagnosis of idiopathic myelitis (N = 20) or encephalomyelitis (N = 8) who attended the Neurological Unit of the University Hospital of Catania, Sicily. Antibodies against Toxocara spp. were measured using a multiplex bead-based assay and Toxocara immunoblot using Toxocara canis excretory secretory antigens. All samples tested negative for the presence of anti-T. canis IgG antibodies. In this series, we found no evidence of a contribution of neurotoxocariasis to the burden of myelitis.

Toxocara infection is not associated with viral or bacterial central nervous system infection in children.

BACKGROUND: Helminth infections with larvae that migrate through the tissues have been considered risk factors for CNS infections. OBJECTIVES: The present work was designed to investigate the prevalence of anti- TOXOCARA antibodies in the serum and/or in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of children with infectious meningitis or meningoencephalitis and of a control group, without meningitis, admitted at the Children's Hospital NS Glória, Vitória, ES, Brazil. PATIENTS AND METHODS: After adsorption with ASCARIS LUMBRICOIDES antigen, serum and/or cerebrospinal fluid of 381 inpatients (201 with meningitis and 180 without meningitis) were submitted to an ELISA IgG, for anti- TOXOCARA antibodies using secretion/excretion antigens of third stage larvae of T. CANIS. RESULTS: No significant differences between the meningitis and the control groups were observed in the frequencies of positive tests for anti- TOXOCARA antibodies in the serum or CSF (respectively for the meningitis and control group: 33/103 or 32 % and 52/152 or 34.2 % for the serum, p = 0.821; 48/184 or 26.1 % and 23/121 or 19.0 % for the CSF; p = 0.196. CONCLUSION: The results demonstrated that TOXOCARA infection, evaluated by detection of anti- TOXOCARA antibodies in serum or CSF, is not associated with viral or bacterial meningitis or meningoencephalitis in children in our country.

Eosinophilic meningoencephalitis due to Toxocara canis: case report and review of the literature.

Toxocariasis is usually manifested as visceral larva migrans. Nervous system involvement is a rare complication. In this report, we describe one case of meningoencephalitis due to Toxocara canis and review the literature. We report a previously healthy two-year-old boy who was admitted after 24 hours of severe neurologic symptoms with marked eosinophilic pleocytosis in the cerebrospinal fluid and a single subcortical lesion detected by cerebral magnetic resonance imaging. Both serum and spinal fluid tested positive for T. canis. Initial treatment with thiabendazole was ineffective. After marked improvement in clinical and laboratory results were achieved using albendazole and corticosteroids, the child was discharged.

[Toxocara canis meningoradiculitis]. / Méningo-radiculite à toxocara canis.

Various neurological pictures attributed to human toxocariasis are sparsely reported in the literature. A case of toxocaral infection presenting as meningoradiculitis is described herewith. Etiological diagnosis was oriented by the finding of an eosinophilia in the spinal fluid, then confirmed by the result of the immunodiagnosis of toxocariasis from both serum and spinal fluid.