Rare Neurocysticercosis that found in Germany

1
Zain Irfan Rafii and 2Yudha Nurdian

1
Medical Student, Faculty of Medicine, University of Jember, Indonesia
2
Faculty of Medicine, University of Jember, Indonesia
Correspondingauthor: ZainIrfanRafii, zainrafii74@gmail.com 152010101046@students.unej.ac.id.

Abstract
Background
Taenia crassiceps is a cosmopolitan cestode parasite endemic to the northern hemisphere, including
Europe, North America, and Asia. Taenia crassiceps has a fully zoonotic transmission life cycle that
includes foxes, dogs, and felids as the hosts of the adult tapeworm. Small mammals including mice,
rabbits, and other rodents are intermediate hosts of the larval stage. In rodents, cysts usually lodge
subcutaneously in muscle, but not in the eyes or nervous system. Humans are a dead-end,
intermediate host, and human infection is extremely rare, with only 10 confirmed human cases
described. Lastest case found In 2011, in Regensburg, southern Germany, a 51-year-old German
woman diagnosed with neurocysticercosis caused by Taenia crassiceps. This woman was hospitalized
because of progressive headache, nausea, and vomiting. The signs and symptoms had started 2 weeks
before, and intensity had been increasing ever since. At the time of admission, the patient showed
cerebellar ataxia but no further neurologic deficits. She did not have fever or other symptoms. She had
no known chronic reconditions or recent hospital stays and had never taken immunosuppressant
drugs. She had no family history of neurologic symptoms or malignant diseases. Magnetic resonance
(MR) and computed tomographic images, visible image of parasitic lesion with perifocal edema.
Craniotomy revealed subdural and intracerebellar jelly-like tumorous tissue. The tumor, which
consisted of multiple spherical masses with diameters of 2–4 mm, was resected. No infiltration of
meningeal structures or the skull was evident. After some laboratory test like ELISA and other serum
test, it was found out that the woman was positively infected by Taenia crassiceps.

Conclusion
This work explain the presence of worm infection on CNS specifically Taenia crassiceps which only
found 10 cases to date. One of the most recently discovered in 2011 which found an infection in the
cerebellum.The diagnosis of infection is demanding for laboratories, because the signs and
symptomps almost resemble other worm infections on CNS.

Referencee
Lescano, A., and Zunt, J. 2013. Other cestodes: sparganosis, coenurosis and Taenia crassiceps
cysticercosis. Handbook of Clinical Neurology, 114 (3): 335-343.

Ntoukas, V., Tappe, D., Pfütze, D., Simon, M., and Holzmann,T. 2013. Cerebellar Cysticercosis
Caused by Larval Taenia crassiceps Tapeworm in Immunocompetent Woman, Germany. Emerging
Infectious Diseases 19(12): 2008–2011 doi: 10.3201/eid1912.130284