Marked hypereosinophilia in a toddler: a case report

Human toxocariasis is primarily a soil-transmitted zoonosis, so children with geophagia are at an increased risk of toxocariasis, especially those living in homes with puppies that have not been dewormed.

A 17-months-old female presented to our department with fever, abdominal distention and marked eosinophilia. Iron deficiency anemia, marked leukocytosis (79,000 cells/mm(3)) accompanied by marked eosinophilia (55,000 cells/mm(3)), and hyper-gammaglobulinemia were noted. On the basis of the strong serological positivity for toxocariasis, marked eosinophilia, and low-density lesions in the liver at computed tomography, a diagnosis of visceral larva migrans syndrome was made.

Visceral larva migrans is usually suspected in a young child with history of geophagia, pets exposure, hepatomegaly, whose complete blood count reveals leukocytosis and marked eosinophilia.