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We report a case of human pentastomiasis in a 28-year-old man who emigrated to Canada from Nigeria in 1982 and died as a result of a motor vehicle accident in 1989. At autopsy, in addition to trauma, numerous small cystic nodules (3 to 9 mm in diameter) were discovered in the liver, pleura, lungs, and mesentery and under the intestinal and parietal peritoneum. The parasites were diagnosed as well-preserved, encysted Armillifer armillatus nymphs. Neither degenerative nor inflammatory granulomatous reactions were observed in the adjacent tissue. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of human infection with encysted nymphs of A armillatus and the eighth reported case of pentastomiasis in North America.

This is the first description of human coenurus infection in Canada. The patient, a 38-year-old Caucasian woman, suffered severe and incapacitating symptoms, including recurrent rash, pyrexia, night sweats and lymphadenopathy, that were suspicious of a lymphoma, possibly Hodgkin's disease. She received several trials of chemotherapy over a 3-year period which controlled her symptoms, but only during the treatment periods. The appearance of a hemorrhagic mass in the left breast led to the surgical removal of bladder-like cysts. The patient's symptoms have not recurred since the cysts were exercised. These have been identified as larvae of Taenia serialis.