A few days after ingestion epigastric pain, fever, vomiting, and loss of appetite resulting from the migration of larvae through the intestinal wall to the abdominal cavity will appear in the patient.

[3] Migration of parasites in the subcutaneous tissues causing intermittent, migratory, painful, pruritic swellings is known as cutaneous larva migrans.

[3] Migration to other tissues causes visceral larva migrans and can result in cough, hematuria, ocular involvement,[4] meningitis, encephalitis and eosinophilia.

[8] Gnathostomiasis is transmitted by the ingestion of third-stage larvae from raw or insufficiently cooked second intermediate or paratenic hosts such as freshwater fish, snakes, poultry, or frogs.

[9][5] In Thailand and Vietnam, the most common cause appears to be consumption of undercooked Asian swamp eels (Monopterus albus, also called Fluta alba) which transmit G.

[5] The definitive hosts for gnathostomiasis include omnivorous or carnivorous mammals such as cats, dogs, tigers, leopards, lions, mink, opossums or raccoons.

[17] These released larvae travel to the connective tissue and muscle as observed before and after 4 weeks they return to the gastric wall as adults.

[3] Worms mate and females begin to excrete fertilized eggs with feces 8–12 months after ingestion of cysts.

[3] The third-stage larvae don't return to the gastric wall preventing it from maturing into adult worms, leaving the life cycle incomplete.

Instead, the larvae continue to migrate unpredictably unable to develop into adults, so eggs are seldom found in diagnostic tests or human feces.

[1] Serological testing such as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) or the Western blot are also reliable but may not be easily accessible in endemic areas.

[6] The best strategy for preventing accidental infection of humans is to educate those living in endemic areas to only consume fully cooked meat.

The inability of the parasite to complete its life cycle within humans means that transmission can easily be contained by adequate preparation of meat from intermediate hosts.

It consists of onion, cubed fish, lime or lemon juice and Andean spices including salt and chili.

In areas with reliable electricity, meat can be frozen at -20 degrees Celsius for 3–5 days to achieve the same results of killing the larvae present.

[3] Albendazole is administered at 400 mg daily for 21 days as an adjunct to surgical excision, while ivermectin is better tolerated as a single dose.

[9] The first case of Gnathostoma infection was identified by Sir Richard Owen when inspecting the stomach of a young tiger that had died at London Zoo from a ruptured aorta.