Human Dirofilariasis Infection in the Forehead: A Case Report

  • Mahsa Mohammadkhani Department of Laboratory Sciences, Faculty of Para-Medicine, Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Bandar Abbas, Iran
  • Navid Abdi Infectious and Tropical Diseases Research Center, Hormozgan Health Institute, Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Ban-dar Abbas, Iran
  • Khojasteh Sharifi-Sarasiabi Department of Laboratory Sciences, Faculty of Para-Medicine, Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Bandar Abbas, Iran
Keywords: Dirofilariasis; Forehead; Iran

Abstract

Human dirofilariasis is currently considered a zoonotic infection, a mosquito-borne disease caused by the filarial nematodes of dogs, mainly Dirofilaria repens and D. immitis. Human dirofilariasis has been reported from many parts of the world, including Africa, Australia, the Americas, Europe, and Asia. The climate of Bandar Abbas in Hormozgan province, Sothern of Iran, has favorable conditions for the growth and reproduction of different types of vector mosquitoes. A 20 yr old woman from Bandar Abbas, visited a surgeon where the presence of a nodule was diagnosed in the forehead. In histopathological examination, cross-sections of a worm surrounded by necrotic tissues were observed. By evaluating the sections, Dirofilaria sp. was the probable diagnosis. To our knowledge, in Iran, this is the first human dirofilariasis occurring in the forehead. Human cases of dirofilariasis need to be reported so that physicians could consider dirofilariasis in their differential diagnoses.

Published
2023-12-08
Section
Articles