Symptoms may persist for months to years without resolution because the inciting larvae often remain alive but encapsulated within host granulomas. Retinitis may develop as a result of subretinal trapped larvae. Demonstration of the parasites in tissue is definitive. Diethylcarbamazine is the drug of choice to resolve the infection. Animal hookworm larvae, especially Ancylostoma braziliense, are responsible for this dermatologic disease, which is increasingly recognized.
Infective larvae penetrate skin but are unable to pass through to the circulation and the lungs.
Treatment with topical thiabendazole is successful in controlling the rash and pruritus.