Korean J Parasitol.
2022 Dec;60(6):419-421. 10.3347/kjp.2022.60.6.419.
A Case of Ocular Sparganosis in China: Episode of Migration from Muscle Cone to Subconjunctiva
- Affiliations
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- 1Department of Ophthalmology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230601, China
- 2Department of Optometry, The Second School of Clinical Medicine, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230601, China
- 3Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230601, China
- KMID: 2537412
- DOI: http://doi.org/10.3347/kjp.2022.60.6.419
Abstract
- To improve our understanding of the migration of sparganum in humans, we report a case of ocular sparganosis having the migratory episode from the muscle cone to the subconjunctiva. A 34-year-old woman was admitted to the Hospital of Anhui Medical University (Hefei, China), in December 2019. She presented with conjunctival hemorrhage and recurrent pain in the left eye. A foreign body was found in the muscle cone of the eye. Two months later, a ribbon-like white material was found under the conjunctiva on slit-lamp examination. A long and slender, actively moving parasite was extracted by surgery. The extracted worm was approximately 8 cm long and 2 mm wide. The worm was whitish, wrinkled, ribbon shaped, and had a slightly enlarged scolex. The worm sample was morphologically identified as a plerocercoid larva (sparganum) of the Spirometra tapeworm. Her conjunctival blood suffusion and eye pain ceased within 1 week after operation. She has been in good health without any symptoms during the 2-year follow-up. A case of ocular sparganosis, in which larval worm migrated from the muscle cone to the subconjunctiva is reported from China.
