Ocular dirofilariasis in Iran: a case report

ABSTRACT

Dirofilariasis is caused by a Filariid parasite of the genus Dirofilaria. This zoonotic infection is spread by mosquito vector from animal to human. Ocular Dirofilariasis involving the eye and adnexa is rare. A nodule in the right eye had developed in a 20-year-old soldier from Mazandaran province, north of Iran. The mass was removed surgically and measured 5x5 mm. The specimen was identified on the basis of microscopic section by the presence of longitudinal cuticular ridges, the thick muscle cell layer and the presence of 2 nuclei in the lateral cord. The worm was identified as a Dirofilaria, [presumptively D. conjunctivae]. This report is one of the first reports of ocular Dirofilariasis from Iran