A Case report of sparganosis

A case of sparganosis was presented. The patient was a 43-year-old Korean male who had a history of having eaten raw flesh of snake and frog in Keoje Island during 1950 to 1952 for the purpose of treatment of arthritis by the oriental custom. In the summer, l959, he had slight itching sensation in the left lower scrotal area. A few months later, he noticed the appearance of a peanut-sized mass in that area. However, the mass enlarged gradually to a hen's egg size during two years. On surgical exploration, the mass was found to be a fibro-connective tissue capsule(3 to 4 cm in diameter) in the lower left scrotal area. From the capsule three larvae(l9 to 28 cm by 2 to 6 mm) were freed by dissection without much difficulty. The sources of infection of some formerly reported sparganosis in Korea were discussed. It is most probable that human sparganosis is acquired by ingestion of raw flesh of snake and frog in this country.