Trichinellosis: A Case of Life-threatening Myositis and Myocarditis in Garhwal Hill Region

Human Trichinellosis is now a rare zoonotic disease. Although the disease is not uncommon, rather non specific symptoms make the disease, a rare thought differential in acute febrile gastroenteritis. Incidence has decreased owing to healthy eating habits. The infection usually manifests with subclinical disease presentation, and acute gastroenteritis; however occasionally leading to life-threatening myocarditis, myositis and seizure. Diagnosis requires a low threshold for suspicion and evaluation. Muscle biopsy serves as the definitive diagnostic method. Most often it resolves without any treatment whereas severe cases require high dose intravenous glucocorticoid and antihelminthic. Here, authors report a case of a 23-year-old female patient, who presented with lifethreatening acute onset, progressive pure motor quadriparesis with myocarditis. After detailed clinical and laboratory investigations, the possibility of acute infectious aetiology with eosinophilia, myocarditis, and myositis was diagnosed, and a muscle biopsy was performed. The patient was diagnosed with Trichinellosis after ruling out other causes of acute motor paralysis. The patient improved after albendazole and glucocorticoid therapy. The case represents an uncommon cause of myositis and myocarditis. Detailed review of the history and epidemiology of the infectious disease should always be given priority for early diagnosis. The case also gives the importance of timely treatment which was life-saving.