Zoonotic Ocular Onchocercosis by.

Abstract

The parasitic filarioidcauses ocular disease characterized by conjunctivitis and nodular lesions. This nematode was first described in 1967 in a wolf from Georgia, and since then cases of infection from dogs and cats with ocular onchocercosis and sporadically from humans also with subcutaneous and cervical lesions caused byhave been reported from the Middle East, Europe, and North America. Due to its zoonotic potential, this parasitic infection has gained attention in the past 20 years. Phylogenetic studies have highlighted the recent divergence offrom otherspp. and the importance of domestication in the evolutionary history of this worm. Moreover, the finding of angenotype associated with subclinical and mild infection in the Iberian Peninsula, raises important questions about the pathogenicity of this presently enigmatic parasite.