Ophthalmomyiasis Externa Caused by Muscae Fly Larva in Deserts of the Thar

Figures & data

TABLE 1  Details of patients diagnosed.

S no.	Age (years)	Sex	Date of diagnosis	Place of occurrence	No. of larvae found	Laterality and ocular structures involved
1	11	Male (child)	11 Jan 2011	Playing in fields	8	Bilateral
						Right eye: 7 larvae from upper and lower fornix, bulbar and palpebral conjunctiva, lower lid margin
						Left eye: 1 larva from lower lid margin
2	45	Male	4 Apr 2011	Working in fields	4	Unilateral
						Right eye: lower fornix, bulbar and palpebral conjunctiva, lateral canthus
3	25	Male	9 May 2011	Working in fields	4	Unilateral
						Right eye: lower fornix, bulbar and palpebral conjunctiva

FIGURE 1  (a) High-magnification microbiology laboratory photographs of larva that we retrieved from the conjuctival cul de sac of our patient. Note the spindle shape, translucent, segmented body, and two large dark oral hooks connected to a white cephalopharyngeal skeleton. The larvae were identified as first instars of Muscae fly, suspected Oestrus ovis (Diptera:Oestridae). [Courtesy Dr. Prabhu Prakash, MD, Professor, Microbiology, Dr SN Medical College, Jodhpur, India]. (b) Microbiology laboratory photographs of another larva that we retrieved from the conjuctival cul de sac of same patient. (c) High-magnification view of oral segment. (d) Removal of larva with cotton-tipped applicator under local anesthesia. (e) Larva on the lid margin. Video: We can see the larva in the inferior conjuctival fornix, freely mobile, which was removed with sterile cotton-tipped applicator under proparacaine local anesthesia. The entire cotton-tipped applicator with the larva was submerged in TG media in a test tube chamber. A few seconds after submersion the larva was found freely moving in the fluid of the culture media. A total of 3 larvae were removed from this patient.