Otranto Domenico, Traversa Donato
Department of Animal Health and Welfare of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari, PO Box 7, 70010 Valenzano, Bari, Italy.
Trends Parasitol. 2005 Jan;21(1):1-4. doi: 10.1016/j.pt.2004.10.008.
The genus Thelazia comprises several parasites, commonly named eyeworms, which infect the eyes and associated tissues of mammals, including humans. Transmission of eyeworms occurs via non-biting diptera that feed on the ocular secretions, tears and conjunctiva of animals. The disease, thelaziosis, is characterized by a range of subclinical to clinical signs, such as epiphora, conjunctivitis, keratitis, corneal opacity and ulcers. Human thelaziosis is common in poor socio-economic settings in many Asian countries. The relationship between eyeworms and their hosts are discussed here, together with recent molecular insights that are instrumental in investigating the biology of Thelazia in their definitive and intermediate hosts.
吸吮线虫属包含几种寄生虫，通常被称为眼虫，可感染包括人类在内的哺乳动物的眼睛及相关组织。眼虫通过以动物眼分泌物、眼泪和结膜为食的非吸血双翅目昆虫传播。眼虫病的特征是一系列从亚临床到临床的症状，如流泪、结膜炎、角膜炎、角膜混浊和溃疡。在许多亚洲国家，人类眼虫病在社会经济条件较差的地区很常见。本文讨论了眼虫与其宿主之间的关系，以及最近的分子研究成果，这些成果有助于研究吸吮线虫在终末宿主和中间宿主中的生物学特性。
