Diffuse Unilateral Subacute Neuroretinitis—DUSN

Pet roundworms and hookworms: A continuing need for global worming

“…Indeed, myositis occurred in human volunteers after skin infection by larvae of this canine hookworm [125], thus corroborating the hypothesis that larval A. caninum may indeed cause muscular damage. These larvae have also been associated with a sort of human OLM, a unilateral sub-acute neuroretinitis with loss of vision [126] and, as those of A. ceylanicum , can reach adulthood in the human gut. In particular, a relatively newly discovered human disease caused by A. caninum is an eosinophilic enteritis regarded as an emergent disease in some areas, e.g.…”

Subretinal worm and repeat laser photocoagulation

“…Parasites of different sizes and several species of nematodes have been reported as etiologic agents of DUSN including Toxocara canis , Ancylostoma caninum , Strongyloides stercoralis, Ascaris lumbricoides and Baylisascaris procyonis . It is established that DUSN can be caused by two different sized nematodes, the smaller measuring 500 μm and the larger measuring between 1500 μm and 2000 μm 3. Gass suspected that the smaller worm was Ancylostoma caninum , a canine parasite that causes cutaneous larva migrans in humans 4.…”

Diffuse Unilateral Subacute Neuroretinitis Caused byAncylostomaHookworm

“…Patients typically have vitritis, papillitis, and gray-white retinal lesions ( 1 , 2 ). DUSN primarily occurs in the United States, the Caribbean, and South America, although several cases also have been reported in Europe, Africa, India, and China ( 2 ).…”

“…Because the nematodes are only rarely surgically extracted from the eye, a definite identification is hardly ever achieved ( 3 , 4 ). Noninvasive laser therapy is the treatment of choice for DUSN because it leads to the death of the nematode, thereby stopping the inflammatory process ( 1 ). Anthelminthic therapy with albendazole also has been described as successful, albeit primarily in cases where a worm cannot be visualized in the patient’s eye ( 5 ).…”

“…The finding of a hookworm in DUSN seems plausible because Ancylostoma spp. nematodes have been repeatedly proposed as an etiologic agent in DUSN ( 1 , 3 , 4 ). …”