| Abstract |
It is unusual to find Capillaria philippinensis infecting man in Egypt, but it has recently been reported from Cairo by Yousseff et al. (1989). We now report the second human capillariasis case in Egypt, a 38 year old housewife living in a village in Lower Egypt, who had no history of international travel. Before her admission to the Menouf Hospital, she experienced 14 months of recurrent watery diarrhea, with her stools becoming particularly malodorous in the final 3-4 d before admission to hospital. During the 14 months she had been treated with several anti-diarrheal drugs which resulted in only temporary relief. At admission, she complained of general weakness, loss of appetite and weight, myalgias in the muscles of her legs, arms and back, dryness of the mouth, colic, nausea, and vomiting. Physical examination revealed no enlarged lymph nodes, no jaundice, a pale and smooth tongue, first degree clubbing of the finger nails, a weight of 49 kg, an exceedingly pale and cachectic appearance, normal heat sounds, abdomen distension, no enlargement of the liver or spleen, and slight oedema (pitting) of the lower limbs. |
