The first human case of rhabditiasis in Bangladesh

Rhabditiasis, caused by Rhabditis nematode, has long been recognized as a veterinary concern, however, human infection is exceedingly rare. For the first time in Bangladesh, this study confirmed human rhabditiasis infecting a 12-year-old child. The identification was made based on morphometric features and confirmed by amplifying the mitochondrial cox1 gene. During microscopical examination of stool samples, heavy infection with several developmental stages (larvae, adult males, and females) of nematodes was observed. Following morphometric analysis, the nematode was identified as Rhabditis sp. The features used in confirming the species were elongated tail, bulbous enlargement of mid-esophagus, and presence of adult males passed in the stool. The results of the phylogenetic analysis showed that isolates of Rhabditis sp. belonged to distinct clades alongside S. stercoralis.