J Clin Pathol Qual Control.
1998 Dec;20(2):379-382.
A case of Human Thelaziasis
- Affiliations
-
- 1Department of Clinical Pathology, Hallym University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
- 2Department of Ophthalmology, Hallym University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
- 3Department of Parasitology, Chung-Ang University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Abstract
- Thelazia callipaeda is a nematode which usually lives in the conjunctival sac or lacrimal sac of mammalia and fowls, uncommonly causing accidental infection in humans. It can induce foreign body sensation, tearing, and conjunctival irritation, and those symptoms can disappear by total removal of the worms. The authors report on one case of human thelaziasis. The patient was a 36-year-old woman who lived in Seoul, and had been climbing a mountain for the past 5 months. She felt foreign body sensation in her right eye recently, and removed 3 white thread-like worms by herself. Three more worms were extracted from her right conjunctival sac at local clinic, and only one more worm was extracted additionally at our hospital. The gross appearance of the worm was of a whitish, cylindrical, slender nematode. The microscopic features of the worm were as follows. It measured 14 mm in length, 0.4 mm in width, and had transverse cuticular striations. We could also find spicules and papillae in the coiled tail part. From the above findings, it was confirmed as a male worm of Thelazia Callipaeda.
