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Advances in the study on strongyloidosis

Abstract:

Strongyloidosis is a world-wide distributed parasitic infection, mainly present in tropical and subtropical zones. Strongyloides includes several species, of which Strongyloides stercoralis and Strongyloides fulleborni affect man. S. stercolaris mainly localizes in the intestine of its host, although it can give rise to a dispersed infection. Strongyloidosis is responsible of high mortality rates in immunosuppressed patients, e.g. patients treated with corticoids, carriers of neoplasias, transplanted or infected with HTLV-1 viruses. Diagnosis of strongyloidosis can be approached by fecal examination or by immunodiagnosis. Nevertheless, these methods lack sensitivity and specificity, respectively. Thus, other molecular technique are under study to improve strongyloidosis diagnosis. Regarding treatment, ivermectin is fully effective. The opportunistic behaviour of this parasitic infection in AIDS patients as well as the characterization and use of potentially protective molecules are still under study.