Marked hypereosinophilia in a toddler: a case report

Background. Human toxocariasis is primarily a soil–transmitted zoonosis, so children with geophagia are at an increased risk of toxocariasis, especially those living in homes with puppies that have not been dewormed. Case report. A 17–months–old female presented to our department with fever, abdominal distention and marked eosinophilia. Iron deficiency anemia, marked leukocytosis (79,000 cells/mm(3)) accompanied by marked eosinophilia (55,000 cells/mm(3)), and hyper–gammaglobulinemia were noted. On the basis of the strong serological positivity for toxocariasis, marked eosinophilia, and low–density lesions in the liver at computed tomography, a diagnosis of visceral larva migrans syndrome was made. Conclusion. Visceral larva migrans is usually suspected in a young child with history of geophagia, pets exposure, hepatomegaly, whose complete blood count reveals leukocytosis and marked eosinophilia. Abbreviations: VLM–visceral larva migrans, OLM–ocular larva migrans, ESR–erythrocyte sedimentation rate, HBV– hepatitis B virus, HCV–hepatits C virus, EBV–Epstein–Barr virus, CMV– cytomegalovirus infection, HIV–human immunodeficiency virus, CT– computed tomography, ELISA–Enzyme–linked immunosorbent assay, CBC–complete blood count.