Advances in Strongyloidiasis: Celebrating the Tenth Anniversary of Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease and a Special Tribute in Memory of Professor Rick Speare (1946–2016)

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Australasian College of Tropical Medicine, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
Interests: strongyloidiasis; Strongyloides stercoralis; prevention; control; epidemiology; diagnosis; treatment; population health; primary healthcare

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Guest Editor
Environmental Health, College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia
Interests: strongyloidiasis; Strongyloides stercoralis; prevention; environmental health

Special Issue Information

Strongyloidiasis is a preventable chronic infectious disease caused by Strongyloides stercoralis, a unique pathogenic helminth that affects an estimated 614 million people worldwide. This disease has now been included in the World Health Organization’s Neglected Tropical Diseases Roadmap for 2021–2030. Strongyloidiasis has non-specific clinical manifestations and carries a risk of fatal dissemination, that can occur decades after the initial infection. This Special Issue focuses on advances in knowledge on strongyloidiasis, including epidemiology, diagnosis, and control of the disease. The scope is deliberately broad, extending from clinical cases to One Health strategies for prevention and control, with the aim of raising awareness of this underrecognized, underdiagnosed, and undertreated disease. We are also keen to underline that strongyloidiasis cases often indicate other environmental health issues, such as failing environmental health hardware. We aim to encourage researchers and health professionals with an interest in strongyloidiasis to share and disseminate their findings, with the overarching goal of preventing clinical complications, transmission, and ultimately, eliminating this neglected disease in endemic communities.

The international journal Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease will celebrate its tenth anniversary this year and, to mark the occasion, this Special Issue on “Advances in Strongyloidiasis: Celebrating the Tenth Anniversary of Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease and a Special Tribute in Memory of Professor Rick Speare (1946–2016)”. Rick Speare’s expertise, pragmatism and passion for strongyloidiasis prevention and control led him to establish the National Strongyloides Working Group (now Strongyloides Australia) in 2001, with the vision to eliminate strongyloidiasis in endemic Indigenous communities in Australia. Rick was the inaugural President and a co-founder of the Australasian College of Tropical Medicine (ACTM) in 1991. This open-access journal is the official journal of ACTM.

Dear Colleagues,

We write to you because of your special interest in Strongyloides stercoralis and strongyloidiasis. We invite you to contribute to the Special Issue on “Advances in Strongyloidiasis: Celebrating the Tenth Anniversary of Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease and a Special Tribute in Memory of Professor Rick Speare (1946–2016)”.

As you know, the World Health Organization have now included strongyloidiasis in the WHO Neglected Tropical Diseases Roadmap for 2021–2030. This Special Issue of Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease focuses on advances in knowledge on strongyloidiasis, including its epidemiology, diagnosis, and control. The scope is deliberately broad, extending from clinical cases to One Health strategies for prevention and control, with the purpose of raising awareness of this underrecognized, underdiagnosed, and undertreated disease. We are also keen to underline that strongyloidiasis cases often indicate other environmental health issues, such as failing environmental health hardware. We acknowledge that there are no easy fixes, but we aim to share challenges, strategies and solutions. We encourage you to publish your findings to support this celebratory issue and continue Rick’s pragmatic passion for One Health and eliminating strongyloidiasis in endemic communities. The ultimate aim is to support the WHO NTD Roadmap on Strongyloides control by addressing challenges and sharing solutions. 

Dr. Wendy Page
Dr. Kirstin Ross
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • strongyloidiasis
  • Strongyloides stercoralis
  • lifecycle
  • prevention
  • control
  • epidemiology
  • diagnosis
  • treatment
  • population health
  • environmental health

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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16 pages, 1520 KB  
Article
Strongyloidiasis Beyond the Tropics: Updated Epidemiological Evidence from a Historically Endemic Region in Spain
by Andrea de Castro-Oliver, Pedro Guevara-Hernández, Javier Guillem, Miquel Moret-Paredes, Alicia Marco-Gabarre, Alicia Lucas-Camps, Celia Prades-Sirvent, David Ruiz-Raga, Ana Ventura Esteve, Maria Amparo Perea Ribis, Marina Llopis Sanchis, Esther Izquierdo García, Hamlet Ghukasyan, María Pallás Cervera, Carmen Visconti Martín, Ana Isabel López Amorós, Angie Gómez Uranga, Sara Vela-Bernal, Ana Isabel de Gracia-Leon, Andreu Belmonte-Domingo, Carolina Pinto-Pla, Ana Ferrer-Ribera, Anaïs Corma-Gómez, María José Galindo, María Rosa Oltra-Sempere, Blanca Belizón, María José Forner, David Navarro, Isabel Corrales and Carlos Bea-Serranoadd Show full author list remove Hide full author list
Trop. Med. Infect. Dis. 2026, 11(3), 76; https://doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed11030076 - 6 Mar 2026
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Abstract
Strongyloidiasis is traditionally regarded as a tropical disease; however, in the Valencian Community (Spain), it has historically been linked to localized endemic foci considered of declining relevance. This was a multicenter regional case series study across three hospitals including patients ≥16 years with [...] Read more.
Strongyloidiasis is traditionally regarded as a tropical disease; however, in the Valencian Community (Spain), it has historically been linked to localized endemic foci considered of declining relevance. This was a multicenter regional case series study across three hospitals including patients ≥16 years with strongyloidiasis defined by positive serology and/or parasitological confirmation diagnosed from 2015 to 2024. A total of 301 patients were included (median age 53 years (quartile 1–quartile 3, 40–72); 135 (44.9%) female). Most cases were autochthonous (176/299, 58.9%), while 123/299 (41.1%) occurred in migrants, predominantly from Latin America. Symptoms were present in 165/296 (55.7%), most frequently cutaneous (68/296, 23.0%) and gastrointestinal (62/296, 20.9%). Eosinophilia (>500 cells/µL) was observed in 144/298 (48.3%) and severe infection (hyperinfection syndrome) in 7/294 (2.4%). Annual diagnoses increased over time, with a significant temporal trend by case origin (p < 0.001), reflecting an increasing contribution of imported infections, whereas trends by sex (p = 0.068) and immune status (p = 0.926) were not significant. Stool-based methods demonstrated a low diagnostic yield (microscopy 7/157, 4.5%; culture 21/136, 15.4%; rtPCR 2/27, 7.4%). These findings document the sustained detection of cases classified as autochthonous beyond historically recognized foci and an increasing proportion of imported diagnoses in a temperate European setting. Full article
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Case Report
Strongyloides stercoralis Hyperinfection Presenting as Diffuse Alveolar Hemorrhage in an Endemic Region: A Case Report
by Juan Camilo Motta, Manuel Alejandro Delgado and Jacqueline Mugnier-Quijano
Trop. Med. Infect. Dis. 2026, 11(5), 133; https://doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed11050133 - 14 May 2026
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Abstract
Background: Strongyloides stercoralis is a soil-transmitted helminth capable of establishing chronic infection through an autoinfective cycle, with the potential to progress to life-threatening hyperinfection, particularly in immunocompromised individuals. Case Presentation: We report the case of a 70-year-old man from an endemic region in [...] Read more.
Background: Strongyloides stercoralis is a soil-transmitted helminth capable of establishing chronic infection through an autoinfective cycle, with the potential to progress to life-threatening hyperinfection, particularly in immunocompromised individuals. Case Presentation: We report the case of a 70-year-old man from an endemic region in Colombia with metastatic urothelial carcinoma who developed hyperinfection syndrome following corticosteroid therapy for spinal cord compression. The patient presented with progressive respiratory failure and diffuse alveolar hemorrhage. Chest imaging showed bilateral ground glass opacities, and bronchoalveolar lavage revealed numerous larvae consistent with S. stercoralis, confirming the diagnosis. Despite supportive care and broad-spectrum antimicrobial therapy, the patient experienced rapid clinical deterioration and died. Conclusions: This case highlights the importance of considering strongyloidiasis in the differential diagnosis of diffuse alveolar hemorrhage in endemic settings, particularly in patients receiving corticosteroids. Early recognition and timely treatment are essential to reduce the high associated mortality. Preventive strategies, including targeted screening or empiric ivermectin administration prior to immunosuppression, should be considered in high-risk populations. Full article
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