Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2020 Dec;103(6):2336-2338.
doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.20-0853. Epub 2020 Sep 17.

Case Report: Periorbital Filariasis Caused by Brugia malayi

Poonyawee Nunthanid  1 , Kosol Roongruanchai  2 , Sirichit Wongkamchai  2 , Patsharaporn T Sarasombath  2
Affiliations
Case Reports

Case Report: Periorbital Filariasis Caused by Brugia malayi

Poonyawee Nunthanid et al. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2020 Dec.

Abstract

Brugia malayi is a lymphatic nematode that accounts for approximately 10% of lymphatic filariasis cases worldwide. It is endemic in several countries in South and Southeast Asia. In Thailand, B. malayi is endemic in the southern region. The extralymphatic presentation of B. malayi is rare. Here, we report the case of a woman residing in the central region of Thailand who presented with an erythematous periorbital nodule at the left medial canthal area caused by lymphatic filaria. A viable sexually mature filarial adult was removed from the lesion. The nematode species was identified as B. malayi by histology staining and DNA sequencing of the partial mitochondrial 12S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene. As far as we know, this is the first case report of B. malayi presenting with a periorbital nodule that has occurred in a disease non-endemic area of Thailand with possibly a zoonotic origin.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
(A) Contrast computed tomography (CT) (A: axial view, B: coronal view) of the patient’s orbit revealing an enhancing nodule with central hypodensity at the superomedial aspect of the left orbit (shown by the arrow). (B) Contrast CT (A: axial view, B: coronal view) of the patient’s orbit revealing an enhancing nodule with central hypodensity at the superomedial aspect of the left orbit (shown by the arrow). This figure appears in color at www.ajtmh.org.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
The threadlike, whitish, slender-shaped coiled nematode as shown was removed from the patient’s lesion. The size of the nematode was approximately 9.5 cm long and 1 mm wide. This figure appears in color at www.ajtmh.org.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Section of the nematode revealing a nematode with a thin cuticle, two uterine tubes (U) containing developing eggs, and one intestine (I). It has a few, well-developed broad muscle cells per quadrant and prominent lateral cords (Lcs) with a few Lc nuclei (shown by the arrows). This figure appears in color at www.ajtmh.org.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. CDC , 2019. CDC - Lymphatic Filariasis - General Information - Vectors of Lypmhatic Filaraisis. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/lymphaticfilariasis/gen_info/vectors.html. Accessed October 11, 2019.
    1. Zielke E, Hinz E, 1993. Lymphatic filariasis in Thailand. A review on distribution and transmission. Trop Parasitol 15: 141–148.
    1. Rojanapanus S, Toothong T, Boondej P, Thammapalo S, Khuanyoung N, Santabutr W, Prempree P, Gopinath D, Ramaiah KD, 2019. How Thailand eliminated lymphatic filariasis as a public health problem. Infect Dis Poverty 8: 1–15. - PMC - PubMed
    1. World Health Organization , 2017. Elimination of Lymphatic Filariasis as a Public Health Problem in Thailand. Available at: http://www.searo.who.int/thailand/news/elimination-of-lymphatic-filarias.... Accessed August 2, 2018.
    1. Edeson JFB, Wilson T, 1964. The epidemiology of filariasis due to Wuchereria bancrofti and Brugia malayi. Annu Rev Entomol 9: 245–268.

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources