The filarial parasite Loa loa is transmitted by Chrysops fly bites. Loiasis is endemic in rainforest areas of West and Central Africa, and sporadic cases have also been diagnosed in travellers and migrants. Whilst many infected persons are asymptomatic, microfilariae may be detected in the blood or adult worms may be seen under the skin or the sclera of the eye. Mass treatment programmes for onchocerciasis have raised concern about the risk of severe adverse effects when ivermectin is distributed in areas co-endemic for onchocerciasis and loiasis.
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A picture speaks a thousand words: A case of ocular .
IDCases
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Sheikh Khalifa Medical City, Al Tibbiya, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
The 'African eye worm', also known as Loa loa, is filarial nematode that is commonly, transmitted by deer flies. A history of recent travel to endemic countries near western, Africa is common in patients with Loiasis. While a majority of patients infected with Loa, loa are asymptomatic, common presentations of Loiasis include localized areas of, edema, Calbar swellings, and ocular symptoms secondary to the migration of worms, through the spaces within the eye.
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Center for Tropical Medicine, Bernhard-Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine and I. Department of Medicine University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
Background: More than 20 million people are infected with L. loa, and around 40 million live in high or intermediate-risk areas in West- and Central Africa. Although loiasis is associated with significant morbidity and excess mortality, little is known about the perception of loiasis by affected communities.
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The African eye worm: current understanding of the epidemiology, clinical disease, and treatment of loiasis.
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Department of Clinical Research, Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Hamburg, Germany; Division of Tropical Medicine, I Department of Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany; Centre de Recherche Médicale de Lambaréné, Lambaréné, Gabon.
Loa loa, the African eye worm, is a filarial pathogen transmitted by blood-sucking flies of the genus Chrysops. Loiasis primarily affects rural populations residing in the forest and adjacent savannah regions of central and west Africa, where more than 20 million patients are chronically infected in medium and high transmission regions. For a long time, loiasis has been regarded as a relatively benign condition.
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Centre de Recherches Médicales de Lambaréné, Lambaréné, Gabon.
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