Oestrus ovis human ophthalmomyiasis in Iraq

Abstract EN

Introduction : i am presenting my clinical experience of human infestation by Oestrus ovis ophthalmomyiasis externa in detail, as far as the records I am keeping of the cases permit me.

Patients and Methods : those are patients who came under my care in military and civil service at the place of work in 4 mid and southern Iraqi provinces.

I used slit lamp biomicrscope, but sometimes just a head-mouted binocular loup for diagnosis.

I treated all cases.

Results : the total number was 204 cases, the mean age of highest incidence was 12.32 SD 6.5 years.

The highest seasonal incidence was on May every year.

The mean larval count was 5.36 SD 4.24.

Conclusion : the standard clinical picture is that of a young boy with a history of being near to sheep or countryside or in open air and was hit on the eye by a foreign body or an insect.

Ideally within a few hours he suddenly developes a feeling of foreign body, redness, swelling, tearing and photophobia.

On examination, you see excessive mucus, pale diffuse conjunctival swelling and hyperaemia, subconjunctival haemorrhage, may be chemosis and curds of yellow mucopurulent floccules.

This is almost invariably unilateral.

Usually it is possible to find at least one larva (a spindle shaped cylindrical transparently white actively moving worm of about 1-5 mm length and black oral hooks connected to a white cephalopharyngeal skeleton).