Acute encephalitis caused by Schistosoma mansoni

Schistosomiasis associated with Schistosoma mansoni is endemic in the Caribbean Islands, the Middle East, South America and Africa and can be imported to any other region of the world by immigration and travel to endemic areas 1,2 .The disease represents a serious public health problem, with an estimated 200 to 300 million people being infected with S. mansoni worldwide 2 .In Brazil, 4 to 6 million individuals are estimated to be infected with S. mansoni 3 .S. mansoni infection is primarily located in the gastrointestinal tract and liver and feeds on blood in the portal and mesenteric vessels, with the central nervous system being less frequently involved.Neuroschistosomiasis is considered to be a rare presentation 4,5 , with the spinal cord being the most commonly affected site 4 .The acute phase of infection can be asymptomatic or oligosymptomatic or may cause signs and symptoms such as fever, macular rash, myalgia, malaise, nonproductive cough, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and eosinophilia 5 .Neurological involvement during this phase has been much less frequently reported.We describe here two cases of patients with acute encephalitis caused by recent infection with S. mansoni.