Ocular filariasis: not strictly tropical.
A 65-year-old man consulted for a discomfort in the right eye that had suddenly appeared the evening before. The examination revealed a white worm localized under the temporal bulbar conjunctiva. After extraction, the parasitological characteristics identified the worm as Dirofilaria repens (Nochtiella subgenus). This is a parasite of canids and felids, usually nonpathogenic to humans, but which can be transmitted through mosquito bites, especially around the Mediterranean basin. The simple extraction of the worm, encysted under the skin or under the conjunctiva, cures the patient.
Rouhette
H
H
Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital, Nice, France.
Marty
P
P
Zur
C
C
Bain
O
O
Fenollar
S
S
Gastaud
P
P
D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D003228:Conjunctiva / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D003229:Conjunctival Diseases / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004182:Dirofilaria / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D004184:Dirofilariasis / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D004564:Electrocoagulation; D015822:Eye Infections, Parasitic / Q000469:parasitology / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male