Motile microfilaria captured by fluorescent microscopy and the unmasking of eosinophilia following treatment

Gerrit Kann; Hermann Juling; Valentina Ilievski; Gerrit Burger; Stephan Göttig; Christoph Stephan; Nils Wetzstein

doi:10.1016/j.ijid.2023.07.006

Motile microfilaria captured by fluorescent microscopy and the unmasking of eosinophilia following treatment

Int J Infect Dis. 2023 Sep:134:285-286. doi: 10.1016/j.ijid.2023.07.006. Epub 2023 Jul 15.

Authors

Gerrit Kann¹, Hermann Juling², Valentina Ilievski², Gerrit Burger³, Stephan Göttig², Christoph Stephan⁴, Nils Wetzstein⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Internal Medicine, Infectious Diseases, University Hospital Frankfurt, Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany; Infektiologikum, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
² Institute of Medical Microbiology and Infection Control, University Hospital Frankfurt, Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
³ Department of Internal Medicine, Infectious Diseases, University Hospital Frankfurt, Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany; Institute of Tropical Medicine, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; Centre de Recherches Médicales de Lambaréné (CERMEL), Lambaréné, Gabon.
⁴ Department of Internal Medicine, Infectious Diseases, University Hospital Frankfurt, Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
⁵ Department of Internal Medicine, Infectious Diseases, University Hospital Frankfurt, Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Electronic address: [email protected].

PMID: 37454890
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijid.2023.07.006

Abstract

A 24-year-old patient from Cameroon presented to our hospital because of a foreign structure in her left eye. To our knowledge, for the first time, fluorescent microscopy revealed motile microfilariae, and the diagnosis of loiasis was established. Despite substantial microfilaremia, eosinophilia only unmasked after the initiation of antiparasitic therapy.

Keywords: Filariosis; Loa loa; Microfilaremia; Migrant health; NTDs; Neglected tropical diseases.

Publication types

Case Reports

MeSH terms

Adult
Animals
Antiparasitic Agents / therapeutic use
Eosinophilia* / diagnosis
Eosinophilia* / drug therapy
Female
Humans
Loa
Loiasis* / diagnosis
Loiasis* / drug therapy
Loiasis* / parasitology
Microfilariae
Microscopy
Young Adult

Substances

Antiparasitic Agents