EOSINOPHILIC COLITIS ASSOCIATED WITH LARVAE OF THE PINWORM ENTEROBIUS-VERMICULARIS

Various helmintic parasites, most of which are uncommon in economicall y developed countries, can cause abdominal pain end eosinophilic infla mmation of the bowel. A homosexual man presented with severe abdominal pain and haemorrhagic colitis, eosinophilic inflammation of the ileum and colon, and numerous unidentifiable larval nematodes in diarrhoeal stool. His symptoms resolved with anthelmintic treatment alone. Using comparative morphology and molecular cloning of nematode ribosomal RN A genes, we identified the parasites as larvae of the pinworm Enterobi us vermicularis, which are rarely observed or associated with disease. Occult enterobiasis is widely prevalent and may be a cause of unexpla ined eosinophilic enterocolitis.