Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Eye worm infections in two dogs in western US and their treatment
By Eberhard, M L et al.·Published in Veterinary parasitology·2000·US Department of Health and Human Services, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Ocular Onchocerca infections in two dogs in western United States.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
Two dogs from California and Arizona were found to have eye infections caused by a type of parasite called Onchocerca. In one dog, the parasite was located in the cornea and was successfully removed through surgery. The second dog had a severe reaction behind the eye that looked like an abscess, leading to the eye being removed. Both parasites were female and contained eggs, indicating they had mated. These cases are rare and highlight an unusual type of infection that can affect dogs.
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Abstract
Two dogs, one from California and one from Arizona, were found to have aberrant infections caused by filarial nematodes of the genus Onchocerca. In both cases, the parasites are localized in or near the eye. In one case the worm was located in the cornea and was surgically removed. In the second case, a very marked granulomatous reaction was induced in the retrobulbar space, mimicking an abscess. This eye was enucleated. The worms in both instances were female, and were gravid, i.e. contained microfilariae in utero, indicating that a male worm(s) had been present and mating had occurred. The exact identity of the species of Onchocerca responsible cannot be determined, although the features observed are most like Onchocerca lienalis of cattle. These cases represent the fourth and fifth such cases reported from the US, and are especially interesting because of the unusual location of the worms, the small number of recognized cases, and the similarity to a recent zoonotic human infection.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10856819/