External ophthalmomyiasis caused by Oestrus ovis in east China

Abstract

External ophthalmomyiasis is a superficial infestation of the eye tissues by the larvae or maggots of flies. External ophthalmomyiasis, caused by Oestrus ovis, is found occasionally in shepherding areas, but is rare in the cities of eastern China. We present a case of a 30-year-old man with complaints of a foreign body sensation, lacrimation and itching in the right eye, with uncorrected visual acuity of 20/20 in each eye. Six larvae were removed from the conjunctival sac and were ultimately authenticated as the first instar larvae of Oestrus ovis. He responded well after prompt appropriate therapy.

Ophthalmomyiasis Externa and Importance of Risk Factors, Clinical Manifestations, and Diagnosis: Review of the Medical Literature

“…Our review (including 117 publications reporting 312 cases) shows that it is prevalent in regions where sheep or goats are raised, including India [1], Jordan [18], Turkey [37], Iran [40], Libya [42], Tunisia [43], Spain [44], and Italy [45]. In the past decade, there have been reported cases of this infection in countries where autochthonous cases were previously unknown, such as the Czech Republic [46], Bulgaria [47], Australia [48], China [49], Serbia [19], Jamaica [50], South Africa [51], Morocco [52], Japan [53], Indonesia [54], Canada [55], Barbados [56], Belgium [57], Iraq [58], United Kingdom [59], Honduras [60], and Bolivia [61]. Despite its global prevalence [10,18], most reported cases are still concentrated in India [2,27,29,37,[62][63][64][65][66][67], Turkey [25,28,43,[68][69][70][71][72]…”

“…External ophthalmomyiasis is more prevalent in pastoral or rural areas than urban centers, especially in developing countries with inadequate basic sanitation and garbage disposal [37,43,88]. Nevertheless, due to the rise of international travel, infection can also occur in non-endemic areas [46,49,53]. Since larvae enter the eye outdoors, men are more likely to be affected than women, as demonstrated in our review, with a higher proportion of cases occurring in males (with a 2:1 male-to-female ratio) [78].…”

“…While viral and bacterial infections are the most common causes of red eyes, parasitic infestations can also lead to unilateral red eyes [30]. Therefore, external ophthalmomyiasis should be considered a possible cause of pink eye, even in healthy individuals residing in large cities [73], as approximately 15% of cases reported over the last two decades have occurred in healthy people with no history and living in large cities [47,49,96].…”

Ophthalmomyiasis Externa due to <i>Oestrus ovis</i> Larvae: A Case Report

“…People working with these host animals or spending their time close by are more prone to infestation, which can happen either by contaminated hands or direct encounter with the adult female fly. However, the condition is not only reported in rural areas with farmers or animal husbandry but also by accidental encounter in people from all over the world and even urban areas without direct or close contact to animals [3][4][5][6][7][8]. We present the case of a 23-year-old female with ophthalmomyiasis externa due to O. ovis larvae observed in Germany.…”

Oftalmomiazė: Paplitimas, Eiga, Diagnostika Ir Gydymas

“…Dažniausiai H. tarandi atvejai nustatomi rugsėjo-gruodžio mėnesiais [15]. O. ovis musės labiausiai aktyvios nuo pavasario iki vėlyvo rudens [16].…”