Intravitreal Dirofilariasis: A Rare Ocular Infection

Human ocular dirofilariasis is a zoonotic disease, rare in Europe, caused by filarial nematodes. The parasite is either encysted in a subcutaneous nodule or located under the bulbar conjunctiva. We report the case of a 62-year-old man with intravitreal dirofilariasis, which is a rare site of presentation of the nematode in the human eye. It was located in the fundus area and was surgically removed. The nematode was identified as Dirofilaria repens (D. conjuctiva) by two different Microbiology Departments, making this the fifth report of identified intravitreal dirofilariasis caused by D. repens in the relative literature.