Migration of larva through the skin can produce allergic reactions called larva migrans; this is associated with which parasite?

• A. Dracunculus medinensis
• B. Strongyloides stercoralis
• C. Loa loa
• D. Onchocerca volvulus

Answer: (B)

Migration of larvae through the skin produces an itchy, serpiginous eruption known as larva migrans. Among the parasites listed, Strongyloides stercoralis is the one most classically associated with a cutaneous larva migrans–type eruption (often called larva currens), where larvae penetrate the skin and migrate, triggering allergic skin reactions as they move. This parasite can cause ongoing, autoinfective migration, leading to persistent symptoms. The other organisms cause different patterns of tissue involvement: Dracunculus medinensis presents with a subcutaneous ulcer and a worm that emerges, Loa loa migrates through subcutaneous tissue and can cross the eye, and Onchocerca volvulus causes skin changes and river blindness rather than migratory skin tracks. So the association in this context is Strongyloides stercoralis.