<i>Strongyloides stercoralis</i>

Strongyloides stercoralis is a human parasitic nematode worm. The larvae are present in soil and gain access to the body by penetrating the skin. Infection with Strongyloides stercoralis causes strongyloidiasis.

Features

• diarrhoea
• abdominal pain/bloating
• papulovesicular lesions where the skin has been penetrated by infective larvae e.g. soles of feet and buttocks
• larva currens: pruritic, linear, urticarial rash
• if the larvae migrate to the lungs a pneumonitis similar to Loeffler's syndrome may be triggered

Treatment

• ivermectin and albendazole are used