ArticleInfectious diseases of poverty2020
Loiasis in sub-Saharan migrants living in Spain with emphasis of cases from Equatorial Guinea.
Article in Infectious diseases of poverty, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 20 citations in OpenAlex.
- Laboratory diagnosis of loiasis to support individual patient management: A systematic review.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2026Pooled it
- The impact of Loa loa microfilaraemia on research subject retention during a whole sporozoite malaria vaccine trial in Equatorial Guinea.Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene · 2022Trial
- Revisiting the Loa loa microfilaremia thresholds above which serious adverse events may occur with ivermectin treatment.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2025Article
- Imported Loiasis at a Clinical Reference Center in Germany: A Retrospective Case Series.The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene · 2024Article
- Clinical and epidemiological features of imported loiasis in Beijing: a report from patients returned from Africa.BMC infectious diseases · 2024Article
- Spectrum of Helminth Infections in Migrants from Sub-Saharan Africa to Europe: A Literature Review.The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene · 2023Review
- Characterising co-infections with Plasmodium spp., Mansonella perstans or Loa loa in asymptomatic children, adults and elderly people living on Bioko Island using nucleic acids extracted from malaria rapid diagnostic tests.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
13 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundLoiasis is an uncommon and poorly understood parasitic disease outside endemic areas of Africa. The aim of this study was to describe the clinical and biological patterns and treatment of imported loiasis by sub-Saharan migrants diagnosed in Madrid, Spain.
methodsA retrospective study was conducted with sub-Saharan immigrants seen at the Tropical Medicine Unit of the Carlos III Hospital in Madrid, Spain, a reference center, over 19 years. Categorical variables were expressed as frequency counts and percentages. Continuous variables were expressed as the mean and standard deviation (SD) or median and interquartile range (IQR: Q3-Q1). Chi-square tests were used to assess the association between categorical variables. The measured outcomes were expressed as the odds ratio (OR) with a 95% confidential interval. Continuous variables were compared by Student's t-tests or Mann-Whitney U tests. Binary logistic regression models were used. P < 0.05 was considered a statistically significant difference.
resultsOne hundred thirty-one migrants from tropical and subtropical areas with loiasis were identified. Forty-nine patients were male (37.4%). The migrants' mean age (±SD) was 42.3 ± 17.3 years, and 124 (94.7%) were from Equatorial Guinea. The median time (IQR) between arrival in Spain and the first consultation was 2 (1-7) months. One hundred fifteen migrants had eosinophilia, and one hundred thirteen had hyper-IgE syndrome. Fifty-seven patients had pruritus (43.5%), and thirty patients had Calabar swelling (22.9%). Seventy-three patients had coinfections with other filarial nematodes (54.2%), and 58 migrants had only Loa loa infections (45.8%). One hundred two patients (77.9%) were treated; 45.1% (46/102) patients were treated with one drug, and 54.9% (56/102) patients were treated with combined therapy. Adverse reactions were described in 14 (10.7%) migrants.
conclusionsOur patients presented early clinical manifestations and few atypical features. Thus, physicians should systematically consider loiasis in migrants with a typical presentation. However, considering that 72.5% of the patients had only positive microfilaremia without any symptoms, we suggest searching for microfilaremia in every migrant from endemic countries for loiasis presenting with eosinophilia.
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