College of Veterinary Medicine, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, Republic of Korea.
The Hill Veterinary Medical Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Parasitol Int. 2023 Feb;92:102683. doi: 10.1016/j.parint.2022.102683. Epub 2022 Sep 23.
We report two cases of ectopic dirofilariasis caused by Dirofilaria immitis in the subconjunctival and subcutaneous tissues of dogs. In Case 1, a 10-year-old female poodle suffered from a subconjunctival mass in the left eye that was refractory to antibiotic and steroid treatments. The mass was removed surgically, and a whitish nematode was identified within the mass. In Case 2, a stray 3-year-old male greyhound was rescued and transferred to a local veterinary hospital. During care, two nematodes were observed on the left hind paw and leg. The observed worms were not typical of D. immitis; therefore, the species was confirmed using molecular methods. Phylogenetic analysis revealed high genetic identity with other previously reported D. immitis strain. Subcutaneous and subconjunctival dirofilariasis have been mainly caused by D. repens. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of subconjunctival ectopic dirofilariasis by D. immitis in a dog, and the first report of subcutaneous localization in Korea. Therefore, in endemic regions, ectopic dirofilariasis caused by D. immitis should be considered as a differential diagnosis in subconjunctival and subcutaneous masses.
我们报告了两例由犬心丝虫引起的眼结膜下和皮下组织异位丝虫病。在病例 1 中，一只 10 岁雌性贵宾犬左眼患有眼结膜下肿块，对抗生素和类固醇治疗有抗药性。肿块通过手术切除，在肿块内发现一条白色线虫。在病例 2 中，一只流浪的 3 岁雄性格雷伊猎犬被救助并转移到当地一家兽医医院。在护理过程中，左后脚和腿上观察到两条线虫。观察到的蠕虫不符合犬心丝虫的典型特征；因此，使用分子方法确认了物种。系统发育分析显示与其他先前报道的犬心丝虫菌株具有高度遗传同一性。皮下和眼结膜下的丝虫病主要由犬心丝虫引起。据我们所知，这是首例由犬心丝虫引起的犬眼结膜下异位丝虫病的报告，也是韩国首例皮下定位的报告。因此，在流行地区，应将由犬心丝虫引起的异位丝虫病视为眼结膜下和皮下肿块的鉴别诊断。
