Clinical presentation of paragonimiasis in 73 published Thai cases: summary and comment on the change of disease pattern

Abstract

Backgound Paragonimiasis is an important tropical fluke infection. The main affected organ in paragonimiasis is the lung. At present, paragonimiasis is sporadically reported fromseveral tropical countries. Thailand, a tropical country in Indochina, is classified asan endemic area of paragonimiasis. Sporadic cases of paragonimiasis have beenreported since the 1930s. Methods Here, the authors performed a summary on the clinicalpresentation of paragonimiasis in 73 published Thai cases. Results Clinical details of the published articles are systematically summarized and analyzed. Conclusion The data from thisreport add knowledge to the known clinical epidemiology of paragonimiasis in someaspects including the observation of the new disease due to the new pathogenicspecies and consideration on the concurrence with other common tropical lunginfections such as tuberculosis.