Fasciolosis in a traveler returning from Burkina Faso

TL;DR

A traveler returning from Burkina Faso was diagnosed with fasciolosis, a rare parasitic infection that is increasingly being imported to non-endemic regions like Europe.

Contribution

This case highlights the diagnostic challenges and potential rise in imported fasciolosis among travelers and migrants.

Findings

Fasciolosis can be imported to non-endemic regions like Europe by travelers returning from endemic areas.

Diagnosis of fasciolosis is challenging due to the need for specialized laboratory techniques and clinical suspicion based on symptoms like eosinophilia.

Triclabendazole administered in two doses is the recommended treatment for fasciolosis.

Abstract

Human distomatoses may be caused by several genera of trematodes, including Fasciola spp., responsible for cosmopolitan fasciolosis. Once widespread in Western Europe, the prevalence of these parasitoses has significantly declined in the last decades. The rarity of these infections may result in overlooking such etiologies. Nevertheless, imported cases are still being diagnosed, notably among migrants and travelers returning from endemic areas. Laboratory assays used for confirmation require different techniques, which exhibit various sensitivities and specificities, thus requiring expertise. In this context, diagnosis of fasciolosis can be challenging, particularly in primary care settings. We present a case of hepatic fasciolosis, likely acquired in Burkina Faso, in a traveler for whom several months elapsed before etiological diagnosis was made. Given the important number of patients visiting endemic areas, and recent migratory movements, the incidence of human imported distomatosis may increase in metropolitan France in the near future.

•Human fasciolosis is a zoonotic trematodosis with a global distribution.•Autochtonous infections are nowadays rare in Europe but travelers may be at risk.•Clinical suspicion should arise in eosinophilia, prompting appropriate testing.•Treatment relies on administration of triclabendazole in two separate doses.

Human fasciolosis is a zoonotic trematodosis with a global distribution.

Autochtonous infections are nowadays rare in Europe but travelers may be at risk.

Clinical suspicion should arise in eosinophilia, prompting appropriate testing.

Treatment relies on administration of triclabendazole in two separate doses.

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