gnathostomiasis /nath′ōstōmī′əsis/ [Gk, gnathos + stoma, mouth + osis, condition] , infection with the nematode Gnathostoma spinigerum, occurring when undercooked fish harboring the larvae is eaten. Because of its consumption of raw fish, the population of Southeast Asia, especially residents of Thailand and Japan, is particularly at risk. The larvae migrate, often in the subcutaneous tissue, causing a creeping eruption associated with intense eosinophilia. Occasionally they migrate to deeper tissues and cause abscesses or to the central nervous system, where they cause eosinophilic myeloencephalitis. The infection is treated by surgical removal or treatment with albendazole or ivermectin. See also cutaneous larva migrans.
