He was hospitalised due to a mosquito bite.
According to the Western Ukrainian Specialised Children’s Medical Centre, at first this neoplasm on the thigh did not bother the child. However, later there were signs of local inflammation: redness and tenderness, fever at the site of the swelling, and an abscess. An ultrasound scan revealed a benign subcutaneous tissue mass.
“At first, we thought it was an epidermal cyst, which sometimes occurs in children. Since the pathology showed signs of infection, we decided to surgically evacuate the suppuration. This is a standard procedure for soft tissue infections. After local anaesthesia and opening the tumour, a nematode, a helminth of the genus Dirofilaria, was found. The parasite was removed and sent to the parasitological laboratory of the Lviv Regional Clinical Diagnostic Centre for confirmation of the diagnosis,“ says Bohdan Romanyshyn, head of the Clinic of Specialised Surgery.
“This is the second child with such a diagnosis this year. In general, the Centre’s specialists record 2-3 cases of the parasitic disease every year.
“Dirofilariasis is caused by a bite from an infected insect, most often a mosquito, which has sucked the blood of an infected animal. The incubation period of the infection can last from 1 month to 2 years. Usually, a single individual parasitises the human body, capable of migrating up to 30 cm/day. The disease is not transmitted from person to person! The easiest way to prevent dirofilariasis is to use repellents while walking,” summed up Oksana Pushkariova, Head of the Centre’s Infection Control Department.