11 worms extracted from farmer's eyes in South Korea
A 71-year-old man spent two months with a foreign body sensation before ophthalmologists removed the parasites.
By Liam Kaminski ·
Ophthalmologists in South Korea removed 11 living parasites from the eyes of a 71-year-old crop farmer.
The man reported a sensation of something stuck in both eyes for two months, accompanied by redness and blurry vision. Upon examination, doctors observed multiple mobile, whitish roundworms. The conjunctival blood vessels were enlarged, and the corneal cells had eroded, likely due to the parasites' presence.
A case report published in the New England Journal of Medicine detailed the procedure. Medical staff applied a topical numbing agent before using fine forceps to extract the worms one by one. The 11 adult specimens measured between 11 and 22 millimeters in length.
Microscopic analysis identified the parasites as Thelazia callipaeda nematodes. These organisms are widespread across Asia and have established populations in parts of Europe. They primarily infest the eyes of cats and dogs, but can occasionally infect humans.
At the time of extraction, many of the female worms were pregnant. The doctors removed them before the larvae could hatch, preventing the release of living offspring directly into the man's eyes.
Source: Ars Technica
