[Alariosis--newly diagnosed trematodiasis].

Abstract

The aim of this work was to present alariosis--a newly diagnosed parasitic disease caused by a trematode Alaria alata. A. alata requires two intermediate hosts: a snail and a frog. Carnivorous mammals are definitive hosts. Humans and a number vertebrates can be paratenic hosts. The pathological consequences of the presence of A. alata in the connective- and muscle tissues, relevant symptoms, and its diagnostic methods have been described. Importance of multiorgans changes inflicted by the parasite have been emphasized. Alariosis may also exist as an ophthalmic disease. As yet no pathognomonic symptoms of this disease have been described. Alariosis is an emerging parasitic disease, difficult in diagnosis and requiring exclusion of other diseases. No serological test for diagnosis of alariosis are available.