Subconjunctival dirofilariasis: a case report from the United Arab Emirates and review of literature from the Arabian Gulf region

Nour Dababo; Amit Jain; Priti Joshi; Adnan Alatoom

doi:10.1016/j.ijregi.2022.03.014

Subconjunctival dirofilariasis: a case report from the United Arab Emirates and review of literature from the Arabian Gulf region

IJID Reg. 2022 Mar 23:3:126-128. doi: 10.1016/j.ijregi.2022.03.014. eCollection 2022 Jun.

Authors

Nour Dababo^{1

2}, Amit Jain³, Priti Joshi^{1

2}, Adnan Alatoom^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Pathology & Laboratory Medicine Institute, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, UAE.
² National Reference Laboratory, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
³ NMC Specialty Hospital, Al Nahda, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Abstract

We report the second case of ocular dirofilariasis from the United Arab Emirates in a 53-year-old Indian male. In this case, the patient had no travel history and presented with severe ocular pain and redness. Clinical examination raised the suspicion of a parasitic infection, and a microscopic examination confirmed the diagnosis of Dirofilaria repens. Surgical intervention was performed, and the patient had good postoperative outcomes. To our knowledge, this was the fifth case of human dirofilariasis and the third of ocular dirofilariasis to be reported from an area where the parasite is not known to be endemic - the Arabian Gulf region.

Keywords: Dirofilaria; Subconjunctival; Zoonotic.

Publication types

Case Reports