Ocular Dirofilariasis: A Rare case from Mumbai, India

Abstract

Dirofilariasis is a worldwide zoonotic filariasis. Human dirofilariasis is a zoonotic infection most commonly caused by Dirofilaria repens. Dirofilariasis, caused by Dirofilaria repens, has been reported to occur widely throughout Asia, Europe, and Africa. It has not been widely recognized in India; however, several cases have been reported in the last few years. Ease and frequency of international travel has probably contributed to the increase in the number of cases. There is probably a focus of human infection with D. repens in Kerala, India. We report a case of ocular dirofilariasis, from the Western part of India. Among the Indian case reports of human dirofilariasis caused by D. repens, majority had ocular infections and few had subcutaneous involvement of the face.

Keywords

• deworming
• hetrazan
• microfilariae
• nematode
• subconjunctival