Background: The objective of this study was to describe the clinical pathology and seasonal variation of cutaneous larva migrans (CLM) in an impoverished community.
Method: A representative sample of the population of a poor urban neighbourhood in Fortaleza, northeast Brazil, was examined for CLM four times during a period of eleven months.
Results: In total, 4107 individuals were examined. Sixty-three individuals were diagnosed to have CLM with a total of 132 larval tracks. The prevalence varied from 3.1% (95% CI: 2.2-4.3) in the middle of the rainy season to 0.2% (95% CI: 0.0-0.9) in the peak of the dry season. This corresponds to an incidence of 1841 cases of CLM per 10,000 inhabitants per year. The male sex was significantly more often affected (P<0.01). Eighty-three percent of the lesions were located at the trunk, legs or feet. Moderate or severe itching was present in all patients; 31.2% complained of insomnia due to itching, and 21% of the lesions were superinfected.
Conclusions: CLM is a common parasitic skin disease in this deprived community, it is associated with significant morbidity, and its occurrence varies according to the rainfall.