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
. 2023 Feb 10:30:101813.
doi: 10.1016/j.ajoc.2023.101813. eCollection 2023 Jun.

Rare Thelazia californiensis infant ocular infestation

Sydney Roston  1 , J Erik Kulenkamp  2 , Patricia Ferrieri  3 , Sasha Strul  2
Affiliations
Case Reports

Rare Thelazia californiensis infant ocular infestation

Sydney Roston et al. Am J Ophthalmol Case Rep. .

Abstract

Purpose: A rare case of Thelazia californiensis ocular infestation was diagnosed and treated in an 11-month-old patient.

Observations: The patient presented with a visual acuity of 20/130 OU by Teller cards. Exam demonstrated a white, mobile worm in the inferomedial fornix of the right eye. The remainder of the exam was otherwise normal. The worm was removed under anesthesia and identified as Thelazia californiensis by the Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria, at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Conclusions and importance: This case demonstrates a rare but important cause of follicular conjunctivitis and mobile foreign bodies, especially in patients with a supportive history of exposure to the intermediate and definitive hosts of Thelazia species.

Keywords: Acute conjunctivitis; Follicular conjunctivitis; Foreign body; Infectious disease; Pediatric ophthalmology.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest relevant to this article to disclose. No funding was secured for this study.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Patient's right eye. Still image from video taken at home of a nine-month-old showing mobile, thin worm visible across the lateral interpalpebral conjunctiva, which otherwise appears white and quiet.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Samples surgically removed from the right eye of an 11-month-old infant on March 9th, 2021. Panel A shows the entire length of one of the worms removed from the right eye. Panel B shows the approximate length of the worm as 1.5–2 cm. The Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria, at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identified the samples as female and male adult worms compatible with Thelazia californiensis.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Naem S. In: Pelikan Z., editor. vols. 201–32. 2011. Thelazia species and conjunctivitis.https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/24299 (Conjuctivitis—A Complex and Multifaceted Disorder. Croatia, Europe: INTECH Open Science/open Minds). (chapter 13). [Google Scholar]
    1. Sharma A., Pandey M., Sharma V., Kanga A., Gupta M.L. A case of human thelaziasis from Himachal Pradesh. Indian J Med Microbiol. 2006;24:67. - PubMed
    1. Sharma M., Das D., Bhattacharjee H., et al. Human ocular thelaziasis caused by gravid Thelazia callipaeda - a unique and rare case report. Indian J Ophthalmol. 2019;67(2):282–285. doi: 10.4103/ijo.IJO_1110_18. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Chowdhury R., Gogoi M., Sarma A., Sharma A. Ocular thelaziasis: a case report from Assam, India. Tropenmed Parasitol. 2018 Jul-Dec;8(2):94–97. doi: 10.4103/tp.TP_49_17. Epub 2018 Dec 27. PMID: 30693214; PMCID: PMC6329271. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Jittamala P., Monteiro W., Smit M.R., et al. A systematic review and an individual patient data meta-analysis of ivermectin use in children weighing less than fifteen kilograms: is it time to reconsider the current contraindication? PLoS Neglected Trop Dis. 2021;15(3) doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0009144. Published 2021 Mar 17. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources