Article in Japanese

A pediatric case of cestode caused by Diplogonoporus balaenopterae with suspected transmission by raw whitebait

Daiki SUZUKI^1）, Yuji OTO^1）, Souichi SHIMAZAKI^1）, Shinichiro TANAKA^1）, Yuko ONO1）, Kosuke HARUKI^2）, Tomoyo MATSUBARA^1）

Diplogonoporus balaenopterae, a cestode with a definitive host of Mysticeti, causes small intestinal infections in humans. Sources of D. balaenopterae infection potentially include Japanese anchovy, whitebait, skipjack tuna, horse mackerel and mackerel caught from marine waters around Japan. Among the 300 D. balaenopterae cases reported so far in Japan, none have involved children. However, a 13-year-old boy was hospitalized with abdominal pain, diarrhea and white stringy discharge. Despite parasitic excretion during hospitalization, morphological identification was not possible, but genetic testing identified a cestode as D. balaenopterae. After receiving praziquantel for deworming, the patient ceased worm excretion. As the egested worms were immature, they were unlikely the cause of abdominal pain or diarrhea, and their egestion was thought to attribute to viral gastroenteritis-induced diarrhea. Raw baby sardines, which were purchased at a local supermarket 2 weeks before hospitalization, were the likely source of D. balaenopterae infection. In recent years, the availability of raw marine products and diversification of food tastes has necessitated increasing attention to parasitic infections, even in children.

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1）Department of Pediatrics, Dokkyo Medical University Saitama Medical Center

2）Department of Infection Control, Dokkyo Medical University Saitama Medical Center

Key words	Diplogonoporus balaenopterae, cestode, raw whitebait
Received	October 3, 2022
Accepted	February 8, 2023

35 (1)：11─16,2023