Molecular Diagnosis of Human Taenia martis Eye Infection

Abstract

Taenia martis, a tapeworm harbored in the intestine of mustelids, is a rarely encountered zoonotic cysticercosis pathogen. The larval stage closely resembles the Taenia solium cysticercus, but the natural host and thus the epidemiology of the disease is different. We here report a human eye infection diagnosed molecularly in a previously healthy female German patient. The case represents the third human infection described worldwide; the two previous cases were also European, involving eye and brain.