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.