Enterobius gregorii--reality or fiction?

Authors present findings based on the actual epidemiologic situation of incidence of E. vermicularis (Linnaeus, 1758) which is till now the uniquely diagnosed parasite of Enterobius species in human population in Slovak Republic. They compared methods used in our laboratories for detection of propagation stages of E. vermicularis ova with methods used in other laboratories, which detect various propagation stages directly in stool. The authors found differences in detection and identification of adult female and male parasites. The relevance of sings for Enterobius gregorii (Hugot, 1983) diagnosis was assessed from the point of view of ontogenetic and morphologic development of E. vermicularis. Authors describe the isolation of a gravid female of Enterobius species from the patient, which showed some somato-morphological signs different from that found in E. vermicularis females. Possible explanations of such deviations are being discussed. The study is illustrated by pictures showing morphological differences in females. (Fig. 3, Ref. 28)