Acanthocephalans - Human Infections

Human Infections

These are considered to be rare. The earliest known infection was in prehistoric man in Utah. This infection was dated to 1869 +/- 160 BC. The species involved was thought to be Moniliformis clarkii which is still common in the area. The first report of an isolate in historic times was by Lambl in 1859 when he isolated Macroacanthorhynchus hirudenaceus from a child in Prague. Lindemann in 1865 reported that this organism was commonly isolated in Russia. The reason for this was discovered by Schneider in 1871 when he found that an intermediate host, the scarabaeid beetle grub, was commonly eaten raw. The first report of clinical symptoms was by Calandruccio who in 1888 while in Italy infected himself by ingesting larvae. He reported gastrointestinal disturbances and shed eggs in two weeks. Subsequent natural infections have since been reported. Eight species have been isolated from humans to date. Moniliformis moniliformis is the most common isolate. Other isolates include Acanthocephalus bufonis and Corynosoma strumosum.