Eosinophilic meningitis due to Gnathostoma spinigerum in a Thai immigrant in Sweden

This is the first report from Sweden of eosinophilic meningitis due to Gnathostoma spinigerum in a 24-year old Thai immigrant. The patient presented with cutaneous symptoms several months before symptoms of meningitis develop. Both serum and cerebrospinal fluid gave strongly positive reactions to crude extract of Gnathostoma spinigerum infective larvae with a positive antigen-antibody band located at 24 kDa in Western blot analysis. After treatment with high doses of corticosteriods and albendazole, the patient recovered completely.