Human Pentastomiasis
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Abstract
Pentastomiasis is a parasitic zoonotic disease caused by the larval stages of pentastomes, most often Armillifer armillatus. Human
infections are rarely symptomatic, and diagnosis is usually made incidentally. We report here, the case of a 60-year-old man who was
diagnosed with human pentastomiasis while being worked-up and treated for multiple myeloma. The diagnosis was made radiologically based on the characteristic multiple crescentic/C-shaped opacities seen on the abdominal and chest X-rays in keeping with Armillifer species infection. He also had the compatible history of exposure to and consumption of snake meat. This is the first documented case of human pentastomiasis at our facility and to the best of our knowledge the first to be associated with snake‑eating in Ghana.
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