Figure 2 - available via license: CC BY-NC-ND
Content may be subject to copyright.
Source publication
We report a case of subconjunctival invasion of Dirofilaria repens in a woman from Southern Bulgaria. Dirofilariasis is an extremely rare parasitic disease for Bulgaria. It occurs as an endemic parasitosis in the Mediterranean countries. It is caused by helminths of the genus Dirofilaria , which are parasites in dogs, cats, foxes, wolves – the fina...
Similar publications
Background
Dirofilariasis, the disease caused by Dirofilaria spp., and in particular by Dirofilaria immitis and Dirofilaria repens in canines, occurs frequently in canids and felids, and occasionally in humans, in temperate, sub-tropical and tropical regions globally. Although highly effective, safe and convenient preventive medicines have been ava...
Objectives
Canine dirofilariasis is a mosquito borne zoonotic filarial parasitic disease caused by Dirofilaria species. In Sri Lanka, human dirofilariasis is endemic and well documented. Even though canine dirofilariasis is an established infection among dog population s in Sri Lanka, the prevalence and risk factors were not documented in Kanthale...
Dirofilaria repens is an expanding vector-borne zoonotic parasite of canines and other carnivores. Sub-clinically infected dogs constitute the most important reservoir of the parasite and the source of infection for its mosquito vectors. However, occurrence of D. repens infection in wild animals may contribute to the transmission of the parasite to...
Background
Dirofilariasis is a vector-borne disease caused by parasitic nematodes of the genus Dirofilaria spp., considered an emerging concern in both veterinary and human medicine. Climate changes and human activities, such as pet travel, contribute to the spread of diseases to new non-endemic regions. Poland is dominated by subcutaneous dirofila...
Dirofilaria genus is the most common cause of zoonotic filariasis. It typically causes cardiopulmonary disease in canines, but in humans, it can cause pulmonary, subcutaneous, and ocular disease. In this report, we present a case of a young woman who traveled to Costa Rica and subsequently developed a subcutaneous nodule. A biopsy performed in our...
Citations
... Dirofilaria species are natural parasites of mammals and are transmitted to humans by zooanthropophilic mosquitos ( Nadgir et al., 2001 ). Although there are about 40 recognized species of Dirofilaria, only a few have been identified to infect humans, such as Dirofilaria repens, Dirofilaria immitis, Dirofilaria tenuis, Dirofilaria subdemata, Dirofilaria Spectans , and Dirofilaria ursi ( Nadgir et al., 2001 ;Stoyanova, 2018 ). Infection with the parasite has been recorded in 71 different anatomical locations, including the lung, heart, blood vessels, eyes, or subcutaneous tissue, and, less commonly, brain, testes, and mammary gland ( Simón et al., 2021 ;Stoyanova, 2018 ). ...
... Although there are about 40 recognized species of Dirofilaria, only a few have been identified to infect humans, such as Dirofilaria repens, Dirofilaria immitis, Dirofilaria tenuis, Dirofilaria subdemata, Dirofilaria Spectans , and Dirofilaria ursi ( Nadgir et al., 2001 ;Stoyanova, 2018 ). Infection with the parasite has been recorded in 71 different anatomical locations, including the lung, heart, blood vessels, eyes, or subcutaneous tissue, and, less commonly, brain, testes, and mammary gland ( Simón et al., 2021 ;Stoyanova, 2018 ). Out of 567 cases reported in the literature, only 22% were classified as Ocular dirofilariasis ( Simón et al., 2021 ). ...
We report the second case of Ocular Dirofilariasis from the United Arab Emirates in a 53-year-old Indian male. In this case, the patient had no travel history and presented with severe ocular pain and redness. Clinical examination raised the suspicion of a parasitic infection, and a parasite microscopic exam confirmed the diagnosis of Dirofilaria repens. Surgical intervention was performed, and the patient had good post-operative outcomes. To our knowledge, this is the fifth case of human Dirofilariasis and the third of Ocular Dirofilariasis to be reported from an area not known to be endemic, the Arabian Gulf Region.
... Dirofilaria parasites are found in dogs, cats, and wild animals similar to other parasites and they could be found in the circulation of these animals as microfilaria [1]. Dirofilariasis is prevalent in countries with temperate, tropical, and subtropical climates [1] Bugs and flies receive these microfilariae from these animals into their circulatory system, when they bite these resources. ...
... Dirofilaria parasites are found in dogs, cats, and wild animals similar to other parasites and they could be found in the circulation of these animals as microfilaria [1]. Dirofilariasis is prevalent in countries with temperate, tropical, and subtropical climates [1] Bugs and flies receive these microfilariae from these animals into their circulatory system, when they bite these resources. Then they transfer the microfilaria to human being or other living species. ...
Dirofilaria is usually stable in cats and circulates as microfilaria. A human being is the final host (dead-end host), which often leads to human dirofilariasis. We present a
case of Dirofilaria repens infection located in the bulbar subconjunctival space of a 53-year-old male who presented to the emergency department with red-eye. Slit-lamp
examination revealed a white-colored motile worm in the subconjunctival space of the left eye along with redness, mild chemosis, and conjunctival elevation. The parasite
was surgically removed and remained undamaged. There was no symptomatic recurrence following parasite removal. The present case report also emphasizes the typical
clinical features of Diroflaria repens. Dirofilaria repens should be considered in the differential diagnosis of a persistent red-eye disease, especially if it is associated with
the presence of a mobile foreign body.
Keywords: Dirofilaria repens, diagnosis, red eye, surgical removal
... Similarly, the increased number of human dirofilariosis was determined on the territory of Bulgaria (49 cases) [49][50][51], Serbia (40 cases) [20,21], Brazil (33 cases) [52][53][54][55] and Hong Kong (8 cases) [26,[56][57][58] where the mucosal form was also reported. In addition, studies that have examined the epidemiological profile of canine dirofilariosis in these countries have shown high infection rates in dogs in Sri Lanka (almost 60%) [35], some parts of Serbia (up to 42.6% for D. repens infection and up to 22.9% for D. immitis infection) [20], India (12% to 37% for D. repens infection) [39], some parts of Brazil (up to 45% for D. immitis infection) [3] and Hong Kong (10% for D. immitis infection) [56]. ...
When presented in unusual manner, human dirofilariosis is hard to recognize and often leads to misdiagnosis and unjustified use of various medications. Herein, we report a rare case of Dirofilaria infection localized in buccal mucosa. A 45-year-old male, residing in the Central Serbia, developed striking edema of buccal mucosa followed by leucocytosis, with both neutrophylia and eosinophylia. Thirty days after first symptoms occurred, nodule was formed along the lateral edge of right maxilla. Therefore, patient underwent surgical extirpation and subsequent histopathological analysis of the specimen revealed the presence of a nematode. Based on morphological characteristics of detected parasite, the diagnosis of submucosal Dirofilaria repens-like infection was made. The diagnosis was confirmed, being the first case in the world analyzed by molecular methods. So far, only 13 such cases have been reported worldwide and our paper brings attention to rare form of this zoonosis and updates the data about human dirofilariosis in buccal mucosa.
Full article link: https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1ZcWY4wbiQornL
