Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Eye worm infection causing conjunctivitis in a cat in Portugal
By Soares, Carla et al.·Published in Veterinary parasitology·2013·Escola Universitá·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Feline thelaziosis caused by Thelazia callipaeda in Portugal.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A cat in central Portugal was diagnosed with thelaziosis, an infection caused by a type of worm that lives in the eye, leading to symptoms like eye irritation, excessive tearing, and squinting. The cat was treated after the worms were identified and removed from its eye. This case highlights the presence of this eye worm in Portugal, which could be a growing concern for pet owners in the region. With proper treatment, the cat was able to recover from the infection.
People also search for: cat eye infection treatment · why is my cat squinting · excessive tearing in cats · thelaziosis in cats · cat conjunctivitis symptoms
Abstract
Thelazia callipaeda (Spirurida, Thelaziidae) is a nematode that lives in the conjunctival sac of domestic and wild carnivores, rabbits and humans causing mild to severe symptoms (e.g., conjunctivitis, lacrimation, epiphora, blepharospasm, keratitis and even corneal ulceration) in infected animals. This report describes an autochthonous case of thelaziosis in a cat from the central region of Portugal, representing the most occidental record of thelaziosis in Europe. Adult nematodes recovered from alive animal were morphological identified as T. callipaeda. A portion of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 gene (cox 1) from nematode specimens was amplified by PCR. Cox1 sequences of all specimens were identical to T. callipaeda haplotype 1. Additionally to these findings, a recent description of thelaziosis in the northern region of Portugal suggests that T. callipaeda has successfully established in Portugal.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23611041/