| CASE REPORT |
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| Year : 2014 | Volume
: 16
| Issue : 2 | Page : 86-89 |
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Human dirofilariasis, "small bite big threat" to public health
Sulekha Bhageerathi, Jyothi Rajahamsan, Manjusree Shanmugham
Department of Microbiology, Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India
Correspondence Address:
Jyothi Rajahamsan
Department of Microbiology, Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/0972-1282.144730
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Dirofilariasis is an emerging zoonotic disease caused by Dirofilaria spp., a parasite carried by domestic dogs, cats and other wild animals. Human infection is accidental. Blood sucking arthropods transmit the infection to man. It usually presents as a nodular lesion in the lung, subcutaneous tissue, peritoneal cavity or eyes. We report a few cases of human dirofilariasis presented as subcutaneous swellings. In all the cases the larvae extracted were identified as Dirofilaria repens, based on the morphological features. The purpose of this article is to highlight the fact that human dirofilariasis is on the rise in Kerala, a geographical area that has a large mosquito density and high incidence of dirofilariasis in the canine population. |
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