Research note: Gastrointestinal helminthiasis presenting with acute diarrhoea and constipation: Report of two cases with a second pathology

Gastrointestinal helminthiasis in developing countries contributes to malnutrition and anemia. Diagnosis and treatment of helminthiasis, especially with low worm load is an unmet public health need in such settings. The infection may sometimes become manifest when a second pathology leads to purgation of the gastrointestinal tract. Two cases of helminthiasis are presented in which the infections only became amenable to diagnosis due to acute diarrhoea caused by giardiasis and lactulose administration. In the first case, acute giardiasis revealed Ascaris lumbricoides infestation, and in the second case primary helminthiasis (strongyloidiasis) was revealed by lactulose, and also led to Vibrio cholera bacteremia. These cases highlight the need to diagnose helminth infestations especially with low worm burdens by means of public health surveillance programmes. These cases highlight the need to diagnose helminth infestations especially with low worm burdens by means of public health surveillance programmes.