Published 02:54 IST, November 7th 2019
Woman finds wriggly roundworms in her eyes after developing irritation
Woman finds wriggly roundworms in her eyes after developing irritation. The worms were identified as Thelazia gulosa which is generally found in cattle.
In a report published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, a peculiar case of a woman was mentioned who was infected by ringworms that was found in her eye. The case is the second among the cases of similar zoo tonic diseases in the world. The 68-year-old Nebraska woman was contracted with an infection with a rare parasitic eye worm. Before her, a 26-year-old Oregon woman was reportedly infected with it.
The woman spent her winters in California's Carmel Valley, was there in March 2018 when she felt irritation in her right eye and flushed it with tap water. She was horrified to fight live ringworm washed out of her eye. The worm was about 1.3-centimeter long following which she looked closely at her eye and discovered a second roundworm. As per reports, she got rid of the second worm as well.
The worms were identified as Thelazia gulosa
Following this, the woman visited an ophthalmologist, who found a third roundworm, known as a nematode, from the woman's eye. The doctor preserved it and sent it for examination and found that the worm was a species of eye worm called Thelazia gulosa. The woman continuously flushed her eyes to remove any more worms and was given medicines to prevent bacterial infections. She suffered from irritation for a few weeks after which she was healed.
The worm affects cattle and humans are favourable hosts
The worm generally affects cattle. The woman claims that she got the infection from one of her trail runs when a group of flies attacked her during her run in Carmel Valley in February 2018. Researchers said that having a second case in the US within two years could be an indication that the T. gulosa infections are becoming more common in domestic cows and thus resulting in a spillover in humans. As the worm lay eggs in the eyes, it is proved that humans are good hosts.
Updated 02:55 IST, November 7th 2019