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Subcutaneous dirofilariasis caused by Dirofilaria repens in Greece: a case report
Author(s) -
Tzanetou Konstantina,
Gasteratos Stephanos,
Pantazopoulou Akrivi,
Gogou Charalambos,
Konidaris Dimitrios,
Fragia Konstantina
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
journal of cutaneous pathology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.597
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 1600-0560
pISSN - 0303-6987
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0560.2008.01144.x
Subject(s) - dirofilaria repens , dirofilariasis , pathology , dirofilaria , repens , eosinophilic , medicine , subcutaneous tissue , differential diagnosis , nodule (geology) , eosinophilia , biopsy , dermatology , biology , helminths , dirofilaria immitis , immunology , paleontology , botany
Dirofilaria repens (formerly Dirofilaria conjunctiva ) is a natural parasite of the subcutaneous tissues of dogs, cats and wild carnivores in Europe, Africa and Asia. Microfilariae are transmitted to humans by various species of mosquito. An autochthonous case of subcutaneous dirofilariasis is reported in a Greek patient from the island of Corfu. The clinical manifestation of the infection was a palpable, painless, subcutaneous nodule in the region of the groin, which 2 days before the patient consulted the doctor developed symptoms and signs of inflammation (pain, edema and redness). The entire lesion was surgically removed, and the nematode worm D. repens was identified on histological sections of biopsy material. The aim of this report was (a) to describe the microscopic morphological features of D. repens that enable identification of the parasite on histological examination and (b) to emphasize the importance of consideration of subcutaneous dirofilariasis in the differential diagnosis of subcutaneous nodules with inflammatory eosinophilic infiltration in countries where the infection is endemic.