Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease
Volume 8, Issue 1 , Pages 29-32 , January 2010

Tungiasis – A cause of painful feet in a tropical traveller

  • M.J.M.L. Hakeem

      Affiliations

    • Infectious Diseases Unit, Victoria Hospital (NHS Fife), Hayfield Road, Kirkcaldy, Fife KY2 5AH, UK
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding author. Tel.: +44 01592 643355; fax: +44 01592 648037.
  • ,
  • Allen K. Morris

      Affiliations

    • Department of Microbiology, Victoria Hospital (NHS Fife), Kirkcaldy, Fife KY2 5AH, UK
  • ,
  • D.N. Bhattacharyya

      Affiliations

    • Infectious Diseases Unit, Victoria Hospital (NHS Fife), Hayfield Road, Kirkcaldy, Fife KY2 5AH, UK
  • ,
  • Christopher Fox

      Affiliations

    • Department of Microbiology, Victoria Hospital (NHS Fife), Kirkcaldy, Fife KY2 5AH, UK

Received 4 July 2009 ,Revised 23 October 2009 ,Accepted 2 November 2009.

References 

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  19. Swaminathan A, Gosbell IB, Zwar NA, Douglas MW. Tungiasis in recently arrived African refugees. MJA. 2005;183(1):51
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PII: S1477-8939(09)00160-4

doi: 10.1016/j.tmaid.2009.11.004

Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease
Volume 8, Issue 1 , Pages 29-32 , January 2010