Strongyloidiasis

Background

Strongyloidiasis, a Neglected Tropical Disease, is caused by the parasitic nematode Strongyloides stercoralis. In case control studies at least 66% of people with chronic strongyloidiasis have significant morbidity. A smaller percentage develop severe disease associated with either acute infection or with unpredictable hyperinfection. The latter disease has a very high mortality rate and often presents as gram negative sepsis with the underlying cause not being diagnosed. Although considered a "souvenir you don't want to bring home" for travellers and returned servicemen, data collected from rural and remote Indigenous communities in Western Australia, Northern Territory, Queensland and New South Wales document hyperendemic prevalence rates greater than those from refugee camps.

Awareness

The Eleventh National Workshop on Strongyloidiasis will be held as a workshop in the International Congress for Tropical Medicine and Malaria to be held in Brisbane from 17-22 September 2016. Visit the conference website at http://tropicalmedicine2016.com/ and look for Workshop 3. Details will be posted when available.

Bookmark the 17 September for the 11th National Workshop on Strongyloidiasis.

Useful Resources on Strongyloidiasis

• Miwatj Health Strongyloidiasis Flip Chart

This flip chart was developed by Miwatj Health to assist in explaining strongyloidiasis to Yolgnu people in East Arnhem Land. Miwatj Health is a community controlled Aboriginal health organisation. Visit their home page at http://www.miwatj.com.au/

• Chronic Strongyloidiasis Treatment and Follow-up Chart

Useful Information on Strongyloides

• Taxonomy of Strongyloides

• Speare R. Identification of species of Strongyloides. From: Grove DI. Strongyloidiasis: a major roundworm infection of man. Taylor & Francis: London. 1989.

This book is out of print and copies are difficult to obtain. This chapter describes how to identify species of Strongyloides using light microscopy. It deals with all species of Strongyloides described in 1989. To assist those rare scientists who want to work on the microscopic anatomy or taxonomy of Strongyloides and are unable to obtain a copy of Grove (1989), the chapter is made available here. It can be downloaded as a series of files (unfortunately large) that run in sequence.

• Part 1 (75kb)
• Part 2 (1.53mb)
• Part 3 (1.37mb)
• Part 4 (950kb)
• Part 5 (940kb)
• Part 6 (560kb)
• The whole chapter (all files above) in one file (5.28Megb)

• What species of Strongyloides is this?
  A case study on how to identify the species of Strongyloides from free-living adult females.