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Volume 24, Number 12—December 2018
Dispatch

Using PCR-Based Sequencing to Diagnose Haycocknema perplexum Infection in Human Myositis Case, Australia

Anson V. Koehler, Peter Leung, Belinda McEwan, and Robin B. GasserComments to Author 
Author affiliations: University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia (A.V. Koehler, R.B. Gasser); Royal Hobart Hospital, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia (P. Leung, B. McEwan)

Main Article

Table 2

Recorded human cases of Haycocknema perplexum infection in Australia (8,9)*

Patient no., age, y/sex Year of diagnosis State† Travel Animal contact Symptom duration, y Maximum CK, U/L‡ Eosinophils, × 109 cells/L Reference
1, 33/F 1994 TAS Global, NT Botanist, fieldwork, vegetarian, some bushmeat consumption 5 3,294 0.8 (4,6,10)
2, 48/M 1996 TAS Far north QLD, NT NA 1.5 1,586 2.0 (4–6)
3, 61/M 2004 QLD None in 20 years, raised in TAS NA 3 1,263 High (6,7)
4, 23/F 2005 QLD WA, NSW, VIC NA 2 1,370 1.1 (7)
5, 61/M 2006 QLD Regional Never consumed bushmeat 2 1,230 1.36 (7)
6, 50/M 2011 TAS Born Tanzania; Ireland, NSW Extensive contact with native animals 2 5,700 Normal (8)
7, 72/M 2015 TAS NA Recreational hunter >2 2,082 2.44 (3)
8, 30/M 2015 QLD Regional Never consumed bushmeat 2 3,400 1.24 (3)
9, 80/F 2012 QLD Extensive TAS Native animal carer 1.5 270 0.7 (9)
10, 37/M 2016 TAS VIC Recreational hunter 2 3,636 0.54 This study

*CK, creatinine kinase; NA, not available; NSW, New South Wales; NT, Northern Territory; QLD, Queensland; TAS, Tasmania; VIC, Victoria; WA, Western Australia.
†All patients from QLD were from towns in far north QLD.
‡Reference range <170.
§Reference range <0.4.

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