External ocular myiasis due to Oestrus ovis in a tourist returning from North Africa

Ophthalmomyiasis externa caused by Oestrus ovis

This report describes the case of a woman in her early 20s who presented with a 3-day history of mobile foreign bodies and watering from her right eye. She had recently returned from vacation on a Greek island and presented to an ophthalmology unit in London, UK. A sample taken demonstrated Oestrus ovis infestation and confirmed the diagnosis of ophthalmomyiasis externa. She was treated with prophylactic topical antibiotics and subsequently made a full recovery. This was only the sixth presentation of O. ovis ophthalmomyiasis externa documented within the UK and the only case documented within the last 20 years. This is the fifth documented case found to have been transmitted within Greece.

Unilateral conjunctivitis of unique etiology: A case report from Eastern India

A middle-aged female patient from West Bengal presented with complaints of redness, foreign body sensation, and watering for 2 days in the left eye. Slit lamp examination of the left eye revealed several minute white foreign bodies moving over the bulbar conjunctiva. Removal of the foreign bodies under local anesthesia, followed by microscopic examination, suggested the presence of first instar larvae of Oestrus ovis; the sheep nasal bot fly. Diagnosis of unilateral external ophthalmomyiasis was made. Such cases though very infrequently have been reported in the past from Southern and Central Part of India. To the best of our knowledge, this is the second report from Eastern India. A high index of suspicion is necessary both on the part of the clinician and the microbiologist for correct diagnosis.

External ophthalmomyiasis caused by Oestrus ovis misdiagnosed as bacterial conjunctivitis

Ophthalmomyiasis is the infestation of the eye by maggots or bots of certain flies which is mostly caused by Oestrus ovis. The most common form of ophthalmomyiasis is external that only the external surface of the eye is involved. Symptoms of external myiasis are nonspecific so it can be misdiagnosed as any other conjunctivitis if the doctors do not take myiasis into consideration. We report a case series of external ophthalmomyiasis. All the patients complained of mild foreign body sensation, redness, watery eyes and some of them had lid swelling. Larvae on the external surface of the patients must be removed under dim light. Larvae can hide in the fornices of the patients as happened in our two cases. Because of our lack of experience about ophthalmomyiasis, we misdiagnosed the first patient as bacterial conjunctivitis. Ophthalmomyiasis may be difficult to detect so ophthalmologists must keep in mind the possibility of ophthalmic myiasis especially in rural regions.