While most infections from parasites are associated with poor communities in low-income countries, there are still some important parasitic infections found in the United States.

 

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has identified 5 parasitic diseases as priorities for public health action based upon:

• Number of infected individuals
• Severity of illness
• Ability to prevent and treat the diseases

 

These are

• Chagas Disease
  • More than 300,000 people in the U.S. are infected with Trypanosoma cruzi, the parasite that causes Chagas disease
• Cysticercosis
  • At least 1,000 people are hospitalized annually with neurocysticercosis
• Toxocariasis
  • 70 individuals, mostly children are blinded annually from toxocariasis
• Toxoplasmosis
  • More than 60 million individuals carry Toxoplasma gondii, but it usually doesn’t cause symptoms in immunologically competent individuals. 
  • However, it is the 2^nd leading cause of death from foodborne illness and it can cause severe problems during pregnancy and in immunocompromised individuals.
• Trichomoniasis
  • 3% of women in the U.S. are infected with this sexually transmitted parasite
  • 1.1 million people newly infected annually

 

Bottom line:

Remember to keep your differential broad and maintain awareness of these generally unusual but important infections.

 

References

http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/npi/