Ocular Thelaziosis in Dogs | CDC EID

EID Journal Home > Volume 16, Number 12–December 2010
Volume 16, Number 12–December 2010
Dispatch
Ocular Thelaziosis in Dogs, France

Perrine Ruytoor, Eric Déan, Olivier Pennant, Philippe Dorchies, René Chermette, Domenico Otranto, and Jacques Guillot Comments to Author
Author affiliations: École Nationale Vétérinaire d'Alfort, ANSES, UPEC, Maisons-Alfort, France (P. Ruytoor, R. Chermette, J. Guillot); Clinique Vétérinaire, Lognes, France (E. Déan); Clinique Vétérinaire, Vergt, France (O. Pennant); É́cole Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse, Toulouse, France (P. Dorchies); and University of Bari, Bari, Italy (D. Otranto)

Suggested citation for this article

Abstract
During 2005–2008, veterinary practitioners reported ocular infection by Thelazia spp. nematodes in 115 dogs and 2 cats in southwestern France. Most cases were detected in Dordogne, particularly in 3 counties with numerous strawberry farms, which may favor development of the fruit fly vector. Animal thelaziosis may lead to emergence of human cases.

Thelazia spp. (Spirurida, Thelaziidae) nematodes live in the conjunctival sac of warm-blooded vertebrates. These nematodes are responsible for epiphora, conjunctivitis, keratitis, and corneal ulcers (1–3). Thelazia spp. nematodes are transmitted by different species of flies feeding from the lacrimal secretions of the definitive hosts. Among the 10 species, T. californiensis and T. callipaeda parasitize carnivores and sometimes humans. T. californiensis is confined to the western United States and has never been reported in Europe (1). T. callipaeda, the "oriental eye worm," is common in the former Soviet republics and in India, Thailand, People's Republic of China, and Japan (2), where it causes infections in humans, dogs, and cats (3). Wild mammals, such as foxes and lagomorphs, are reservoir hosts for the nematodes. During the past decade T. callipaeda infection was proven to be widespread among dogs and cats from northern (Aosta valley) to southern (Basilicata region) Italy (4). In Ticino, a region of southern Switzerland, a retrospective study identified 106 T. callipaeda–positive dogs and 5 positive cats during 2005–2007 (5). Recently, the first autochthonous case of thelaziosis in a dog was described in southern Germany (6). Locally transmitted cases of thelaziosis were first reported in 4 dogs and 1 cat that lived or spent time in the department of Dordogne in southwestern France (7).

full-text:
Ocular Thelaziosis in Dogs | CDC EID


Suggested Citation for this Article

Ruytoor P, Déan E, Pennant O, Dorchies P, Chermette R, Otranto D, et al. Ocular thelaziosis in dogs, France. Emerg Infect Dis [serial on the Internet]. 2010 Dec [date cited]. http://www.cdc.gov/EID/content/16/12/1943.htm

DOI: 10.3201/eid1612.100872

Comments to the Authors

Please use the form below to submit correspondence to the authors or contact them at the following address:

Jacques Guillot, Service de Parasitologie, École Nationale Vétérinaire d'Alfort, 7 ave du Général de Gaulle, 94704 Maisons-Alfort, France; email: jguillot@vet-alfort.fr