PURPOSE: To report four cases of zoonotic ophthalmodirofilariasis infection caused by Dirofilaria repens in Hungary. METHODS: Four cases of ophthalmofilariasis have been treated at our department during the last 14 months. A subconjunctival moving worm was observed by slit lamp biomicroscopy in two cases. In one of these a living filaria was surgically removed, but the other disappeared. Red eye and migrating edema were the presenting signs in two cases. A biopsy taken from the subcutaneous masses disclosed D repens. RESULTS: Histopathologic or parasitologic examination identified a female D repens in every case. Laboratory alterations were not found. Symptoms subsided after treatment. CONCLUSION: The clinical presentation of filariasis is not always straightforward, and a high index of suspicion is necessary in cases presenting with orbital or periorbital inflammation. During the past 10 years the identification of locally acquired infections by D repens has increased in Hungary.
PURPOSE: To report four cases of zoonotic ophthalmodirofilariasis infection caused by Dirofilaria repens in Hungary. METHODS: Four cases of ophthalmofilariasis have been treated at our department during the last 14 months. A subconjunctival moving worm was observed by slit lamp biomicroscopy in two cases. In one of these a living filaria was surgically removed, but the other disappeared. Red eye and migrating edema were the presenting signs in two cases. A biopsy taken from the subcutaneous masses disclosed D repens. RESULTS: Histopathologic or parasitologic examination identified a female D repens in every case. Laboratory alterations were not found. Symptoms subsided after treatment. CONCLUSION: The clinical presentation of filariasis is not always straightforward, and a high index of suspicion is necessary in cases presenting with orbital or periorbital inflammation. During the past 10 years the identification of locally acquired infections by D repens has increased in Hungary.
Authors: Ilona Dóczi; László Bereczki; Tamás Gyetvai; Imre Fejes; Ákos Skribek; Áron Szabó; Szilvia Berkes; László Tiszlavicz; Noémi Bartha; Balázs Bende; Erika Kis; István Kucsera Journal: Wien Klin Wochenschr Date: 2015-07-16 Impact factor: 1.704