Mosquito behind live worm in 75-yr-old’s eye

13cm live worm removed from 75 yr old man at Fortis Hospital In a bizarre twist to one of the city’s rarest medical cases, test reports of the 13-cm-long live worm which was surgically removed from a Mulund resident’s eye last month confirmed that it was a parasite transmitted by a mosquito-bite. What has surprised doctors even more is that the parasite, Dirofilaria Repens, which is usually found in dogs, wolves, cats or foxes, is rarely transmitted to humans. On June 28, Mumbai Mirror reported a rare operation performed at Fortis Hospital, Mulund, to remove a 13-cm worm from P K Krishnamurthy’s eye. For two weeks, Krishnamurthy, 75, was suffering from an odd prickling sensation in his right eye. Following an examination, Krishnamurthy was told there was a worm in his eye and that he would have to undergo surgery. The worm was coiled up underneath the conjunctiva (the transparent layer that covers the front of the eye). The surgery lasted 20 minutes. The pathology tests of Krishnamurthy’s case were conducted at the Fortis Hospital’s microbiology department and reports were issued on Tuesday. “It is extremely rare for these parasites to take humans as hosts. But mosquitoes are the known vectors (carriers) which transmit these parasites to humans,” said eye surgeon Dr V Seetharaman. “There have been cases of worms measuring 9 cms, but this case was an exception,” he added. Dr Seetharaman is now documenting the case with video recordings and tests reports for publication in international medical journals. According to him, such cases are usually found in European countries surrounding the Mediterranean. In India, very few cases, from Karnataka and Kerala, have been reported. According to Dr Seetharaman, an infected cat or dog might have led to the infection through a mosquito-bite. However, Krishnamurthy, is clueless as to how he acquired the parasite as he has no pets nor comes in close contact with stray dogs or cats.