Abstract

BACKGROUND: The first scientific case related to Urbanorum spp protozoan infection was identified in Peru in 1994. Considering there are few cases catalogued, the aim of this study was to register the first case of Urbanorum spp infection in Brazil.

CASE REPORT: A thin 41-year-old female patient with dark skin, weighing 55 to 60 kg attended the Buriti Municipal Central Laboratory, in Maranhão, Brazil to undergo routine exams. Among the exams requested was a parasitological exam of feces, which was processed according to the protocol of Hoffman, Pons, and Janer (HPJ) or Lutz, an easy, simple, and low-cost parasitological technique. This method consists in spontaneous sedimentation of a filtered homogenate of feces sample and water. The sample was stained with Lugol and examined under light microscopy at 10× and 40×. We detected a light-yellow structure with rounded shape and several filaments similar to pseudopods. The microscopic analysis raised doubts about the identity and pathogenicity of this microorganism.

CONCLUSIONS: This study reports the first case of Urbanorum spp infection in Brazil, where the current environmental conditions have contributed to new parasitological cases. Therefore, further studies are recommended to identify unknown cases of Urbanorum spp infection in other regions of the country to create a national registry related to this new protozoan.

Keywords: Brazil, Clinical Laboratory Services, Environment and Public Health, Environmental Microbiology, Parasitology