Case report: Periorbital filariasis caused by brugia malayi

Abstract

© 2020 American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. All rights reserved. Brugia malayi is a lymphatic nematode that accounts for approximately 10% of lymphatic filariasis cases worldwide. It is endemic in several countries in South and Southeast Asia. In Thailand,B. malayi is endemic in the southern region. The extralymphatic presentation of B. malayi is rare. Here, we report the case of a woman residing in the central region of Thailand who presented with an erythematous periorbital nodule at the left medial canthal area caused by lymphatic filaria. A viable sexually mature filarial adult was removed from the lesion. The nematode species was identified as B. malayi by histology staining andDNAsequencing of the partial mitochondrial 12S ribosomalRNA(rRNA) gene. As far as we know, this is the first case report of B. malayi presenting with a periorbital nodule that has occurred in a disease nonendemic area of Thailand with possibly a zoonotic origin.