A woman who returned from an exotic beach holiday in the Caribbean was horrified to discover that a parasitic worm had travelled home with her - and was burrowing under her skin. <\/p>\n
The 45-year-old woman from Pennsylvania, had felt perfectly healthy after flying home from her relaxing break. <\/p>\n
But two weeks later she had developed a raised, itchy rash on her knee. <\/p>\n
After initially ignoring the rash, she eventually consulted her doctor, who referred her straight to hospital . <\/p>\n
Medics there said they knew exactly what the rash was - a parasitic infection known as cutaneous larva migrans. <\/p>\n
The infection is extremely rare, and is caused by a parasitic hookworm that only usually affects dogs and cats. <\/p>\n
Images of the woman's rash show red, snaking lines across her knee, in what emergency medicine physician Dr. Chaiya Laoteppitaks, from the Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia, described as a \"textbook example\" of the infection. <\/p>\n
The wavy lines are the 'trail' left behind by the worm as it burrows beneath the skin, according to Live Science . <\/p>\n
After being treated with anti parasitic drugs, the woman is now recovering well. <\/p>\n
The case report of the unnamed woman as now been published in The Journal of Emergency Medicine. <\/p>\n
According to the World Health Organization , hookworm infections are the most common parasitic infections in the world. <\/p>\n
Hookworms are normally found in warm, moist climates. <\/p>\n
A hookworm can infect a person when the larva burrows into a person's skin, eventually making its way to the small intestines where it develops and then lays eggs. <\/p>\n
The eggs are later expelled in a person's faeces and the life cycle can start again. <\/p>\n
But the type of hookworm found in the woman's knee is one that doesn't usually use humans as a host, instead preferring dogs and cats. <\/p>\n
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Woman returns from exotic Caribbean holiday with most horrific illness - that is only usually found in dogs - Mirror.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A woman who returned from an exotic beach holiday in the Caribbean was horrified to discover that a parasitic worm had travelled home with her - and was burrowing under her skin. The 45-year-old woman from Pennsylvania, had felt perfectly healthy after flying home from her relaxing break. But two weeks later she had developed a raised, itchy rash on her knee. Continue reading