INTRAOCULAR FASCIOLIASIS - A CASE-REPORT

Abstract

We report the case of a 28-year-old male who had been ill with headache and motor weakness for a month and developed sudden pain and blindness of the right eye. During ophthalmoscopy, a worm was recognized penetrating the iris, occupying the anterior chamber for a brief period, returning back behind the iris, and leaving corneal edema with hyphyema. Enucleation was performed to prevent the worm's escape from the eye. The enucleated eye revealed areas of a focal degeneration of sclera and intraocular hemorrhage. Microscopic findings of an abrupt tissue defect and few inflammatory reactions in the uvea suggested very recent migration of a moving worm. The flatworm detected in the anterior chamber was identified to be a juvenile Fasciola sp. This case is presumed to be the first case of intraocular fascioliasis reported in the literature.