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Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg., 79(5), 2008, pp. 739-741
Copyright © 2008 by The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

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CASE REPORT


Zoonotic Filariasis in the Arabian Peninsula: Autochthonous Onchocerciasis and Dirofilariasis

Parsotam R. Hira*, Adel Al-Buloushi, Nabila Khalid, Jamshaid Iqbal, Odile Bain, AND Mark L. Eberhard
Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait University, Safat, Kuwait; Al-Bahar Eye Hospital, Kuwait; Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Parasitologie Comparée et Modèles Expérimentaux, Paris, France; Division of Parasitic Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Chamblee, Georgia

 

ABSTRACT

We describe zoonotic filariasis in two patients from Kuwait; one with Onchocerca spp. and one with Dirofilaria spp. Case 1, a 12-year-old Kuwaiti woman who had visited Saudi Arabia, initially reported ocular symptoms. She later reported a nodule that appeared in the suprapubic area, which was resected. A coiled worm was observed in histologic sections and was identified as an Onchocerca spp., but could not be definitively identified. This patient represents the 15th reported case of zoonotic onchocerciasis in a country that is not endemic for human onchocerciasis. Case 2, a 34-year-old Indian woman from Kuwait City, reported a moving object in her left eye. A live worm was extracted and tentatively identified as an immature female Dirofilaria (Nochtiella) repens. These two cases bring to four the number of reports of zoonotic filariasis in the Arabian Peninsula and suggest that zoonotic filariasis is not uncommon in the Arabian Gulf region.

Received June 11, 2008. Accepted for publication August 6, 2008.

Acknowledgment: We thank the physicians and surgeons of the district general hospitals for helpful discussions.

Financial support: This study was supported by Kuwait University (Project MI 03/03).

* Address correspondence to Parsotam R. Hira, Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait University, PO Box 24923, 13110 Safat, Kuwait. E-mail: hira{at}hsc.edu.kw

Authors’ addresses: Parsotam R. Hira, Nabila Khalid, and Jamshaid Iqbal, Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait University, PO Box 24923, 13110 Safat, Kuwait. Adel Al-Buloushi, Al-Bahar Eye Hospital, Kuwait. Odile Bain, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, USM 307, Parasitologie Comparée et Modèles Expérimentaux, Paris, France. Mark L. Eberhard, Division of Parasitic Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Highway, Mailstop F13, Chamblee, GA 30341-3724.






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Copyright © 2008 by the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.