1.Two Cases of Human Thelaziasis and Brief Review of Korean cases.
Woon Mok SOHN ; Byoung Kuk NA ; Ji Myong YOO
The Korean Journal of Parasitology 2011;49(3):265-271
The present study was performed to describe 2 cases of human thelaziasis (HT) which occurred in Gyeongsangnam- do and to briefly review the previously reported Korean cases. A 58-year old woman, residing in Hadong-gun, Gyeongsangnam-do, came to Gyeongsang National University Hospital (GNUH) complaining of foreign body sensation and itching of the right eye in March 2000. Total 6 adult nematodes of Thelazia callipaeda (2 males and 4 females) were detected in her right eye. A 80-year old man, residing in Jinju-si, Gyeongsangnam-do, came to GNUH complaining of foreign body sensation, itching, and pain of the right eye in December 2007. A total of 5 worms (4 females and 1 degenerated) were removed from his right eye. We analyzed characteristics of the total 39 Korean HT cases reported to date, including the present 2 cases. Most of the cases (71.8%) occurred in Seoul and Gyeonggi-do before 2000, and 21 cases (53.8%) were males and 18 (46.2%) were females. The prevalence was higher in younger ages below 30 years (48.7%) than 31-60 years (41.0%) and over 61 years (10.3%). The seasonal prevalence showed a higher incidence in autumn (43.6%) than in other seasons. Most of the cases (94.9%) were conjunctival sac infections and only 2 (5.1%) were intraocular cases. The present 2 HT cases are the first reported cases in Gyeongsangnam-do. Some characteristics of Korean HT cases were analyzed.
Adolescent
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Adult
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Age Factors
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Aged
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Aged, 80 and over
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Animals
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Asian Continental Ancestry Group
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Eye Infections/*diagnosis/epidemiology/parasitology/*pathology
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Female
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Humans
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Incidence
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Male
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Middle Aged
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Prevalence
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Seasons
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Spirurida Infections/*diagnosis/epidemiology/parasitology/*pathology
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Thelazioidea/*isolation & purification
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Young Adult