Candidatus Dirofilaria hongkongensis as Causative Agent of Human Ocular Filariosis after Travel to India

Abstract

We report a human case of ocular Dirofilaria infection in a traveler returning to Austria from India. Analysis of mitochondrial sequences identified the worm as Candidatus Dirofilaria hongkongensis, a close relative of Dirofilaria repens, which was only recently described in Hong Kong and proposed as a new species.

Keywords

• Candidatus Dirofilaria hongkongensis
• Dirofilaria repens
• India
• Austria
• ocular filariosis
• zoonoses