Cercarial Dermatitis at Public Bathing Sites (Region Zealand, Denmark): A Case Series and Literature Review

Azmi Al-Jubury; Anette Bygum; Eva SusannaTracz; Charlotte Näslund Koch; Kurt Buchmann

doi:10.1159/000516981

Cercarial Dermatitis at Public Bathing Sites (Region Zealand, Denmark): A Case Series and Literature Review

Case Rep Dermatol. 2021 Jul 16;13(2):360-365. doi: 10.1159/000516981. eCollection 2021 May-Aug.

Authors

Azmi Al-Jubury¹, Anette Bygum^{2

3}, Eva SusannaTracz⁴, Charlotte Näslund Koch⁵, Kurt Buchmann¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Laboratory of Aquatic Pathobiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, Denmark.
² Department of Clinical Genetics, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark.
³ Clinical Institute, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark.
⁴ Department of Dermatology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.
⁵ Department of Allergy and Dermatology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Herlev and Gentofte Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Abstract

During recent years, we have observed an increasing occurrence of cercarial dermatitis in Denmark. We here describe 5 new cases from 2019 to 2020 associated with bathing in lakes Esrum sø, Furesø, and Ringen with emphasis on clinical symptoms and their relation to previous exposure to bird schistosome cercariae. In 2020, 2 patients from Furesø suffered from different severity of clinical symptoms after morning bathing in the same lake. We suggest that the differential symptoms may be explained by primary versus secondary exposure to the immunogenic pathogen.

Keywords: Avian schistosomes; Cercarial dermatitis; Swimmer's itch.

Publication types

Case Reports