Porocephaliasis is a condition associated with species in the closely related genera Porocephalus or Armillifer

Armillifer

Armillifer is a genus of Pentastomida, containing the following species:*Armillifer agkistrodontis Self & Kuntz, 1966*Armillifer armillatus Wyman, 1848*Armillifer grandis Hett, 1915*Armillifer mazzai...

. (The term "pentastomiasis" encompasses all diseases of Pentastomida

Pentastomida

Pentastomida are an enigmatic group of parasitic invertebrates commonly known as tongue worms due to the resemblance of the species of the genus Linguatula to a vertebrate tongue....

, which includses Porocephaliasis and Linguatulosis

Linguatulosis

Linguatulosis is a condition associated with the organism Linguatula serrata.The usual final host for Linguatula serrata is a carnivore, like a dog or jackal, and the species is sometimes known as the dog tongueworm for this reason ....

.)

Porocephaliasis is associated with contact with snakes. (This is in contrast with Linguatulosis, which is associated with contact with dogs or wolves.)

It has been reported from Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

, Malaysia and the Middle East

Middle East

The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...

. Its occurrence has been rare in Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 and North America where it has been found in immigrants and travelers.

Transmission and presentation

It is prevalent in parts of Africa  and Asia  where eating snake meat is common. In Africa it has also been associated with groups who use the snake as a totem . Unlike linguatuliasis, humans are only ever an accidental intermediate host for Armillifer, i.e. the larvae establish themselves in the visceral organs causing human visceral pentastomiasis, but adults do not occur in the human respiratory system. After a while the larvae die within the host and sometimes calcify, leaving characteristic crescent-shaped structures seen in X-ray . In extreme cases a heavy parasite burden can have serious medical consequences  and can even be fatal .

Treatment and prevention

No treatment is necessary in asymptomatic patients, but there is no antiparasitic chemotherapy

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is the treatment of cancer with an antineoplastic drug or with a combination of such drugs into a standardized treatment regimen....

or medical treatment available for pentastomiasis. Surgery may be needed for infection by many parasites . Infection can be prevented by washing the hands after touching snake secretions or meat and cooking snake meat thoroughly prior to consumption .