Thelazia callipaeda (Spirurida: Thelaziidae): first report in Greece and a case of canine infection

Parasitol Res. 2015 Jul;114(7):2771-5. doi: 10.1007/s00436-015-4457-4. Epub 2015 Apr 7.

Abstract

The eyeworm Thelazia callipaeda has been reported in different European countries, i.e. Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Romania. The present article describes the first autochthonous case of ocular thelaziosis in a dog from Greece, thus revealing a new spot of infection in Europe. The dog in this case report, most likely infected at the northern borders of Greece, was referred to a private veterinary practice with conjunctivitis, oedema, keratitis, epiphora and mucoid discharge in both eyes. Seventy-seven nematodes were removed from both eyes, and the dog was treated with two subcutaneous injections of ivermectin 14 days apart, in combination with a topical antimicrobial medication. The parasites were morphologically and molecularly identified as T. callipaeda. Although in Greece there is no information about the presence and distribution of the fruit fly Phortica variegata, i.e. the intermediate host of T. callipaeda, the location where the dog was infected is environmentally suitable for its development. The present report of this zoonotic parasitosis indicates that in Greece, along with endemic areas in Spain and Italy, T. callipaeda is currently reaching its southernmost distribution limit in Europe.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Antiparasitic Agents / administration & dosage
  • Croatia
  • Dog Diseases / drug therapy
  • Dog Diseases / parasitology*
  • Dogs
  • Europe
  • Female
  • France
  • Germany
  • Greece
  • Italy
  • Ivermectin / administration & dosage*
  • Romania
  • Spain
  • Spirurida Infections / drug therapy
  • Spirurida Infections / parasitology
  • Spirurida Infections / veterinary*
  • Switzerland
  • Thelazioidea / genetics
  • Thelazioidea / isolation & purification*
  • Thelazioidea / physiology

Substances

  • Antiparasitic Agents
  • Ivermectin