File(s) not publicly available
First human case of fatal Halicephalobus gingivalis meningoencephalitis in Australia
journal contribution
posted on 06.12.2017, 00:00 authored by C Lim, A Crawford, C Moore, R Gasser, R Nelson, A Koehler, Richard BradburyRichard Bradbury, R Speare, D Dhatrak, G WeldhagenHalicephalobus gingivalis (previously Micronema deletrix) is a free-living nematode known to cause opportunistic infections, mainly in horses. Human infections are very rare, but all cases described to date involved fatal meningoencephalitis. Here we report the first case of H. gingivalis infection in an Australian human patient, confirmed by nematode morphology and sequencing of ribosomal DNA. The implications of this case are discussed, particularly, the need to evaluate real-time PCR as a diagnostic tool.