The Past, Present, and Future of Cutaneous Larva Migrans in Türkiye: From Selim Kurtoğlu's 1981 Case to Current Clinical and Epidemiological Reality.

OBJECTIVE

To place Selim Kurtoğlu's 1981 Turkish report of cutaneous larva migrans (CLM) within the context of pre-digital medical history and the updated Türkiye-related literature.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

We conducted a historical documentary review of the 1981 article and a scoping search of PubMed/MEDLINE, Google Scholar, TR Dizin, DergiPark, journal websites, bibliographic catalogs, and accessible archives. The search was updated on July 27, 2026.

RESULTS

Robert James Lee's 1874 report served as the international historical anchor. Kurtoğlu's 1981 article described a 2.5-month-old boy from Nevşehir with widespread pruritic, tunnel-like lesions and cited a 1947 Turkish parasitology item by Şekban under the term "köstebek hastalığı"; however, neither the cited item nor Şekban's biographical details could be independently verified. The updated search identified 11 subsequent digitally accessible Türkiye-related CLM publications and one 2026 Turkish report of a CLM mimic. The CLM literature included travel-associated disease, probable local acquisition, pediatric and atypical presentations, a 22-patient regional series, and discussions related to climate.

CONCLUSION

Kurtoğlu's 1981 report demonstrates that the history of CLM in Türkiye is older and more complex than digital databases alone suggest. The 1947 Şekban citation remains a historical trace awaiting archival confirmation, and older Turkish medical periodicals and local archives are essential for reconstructing the national chronology.