Ophthalmic Parasitosis: A Review Article

Table 1

Ocular parasitosis caused by protozoa (geographical distribution & ocular findings).

Disease/Infection	Causative agent	Geographical distribution	Ocular findings
Acanthamoebic keratitis	Acanthamoeba spp	Worldwide, soil and water	Conjuctival oedema, sever pain, ring infiltrate around the cornea, hypopyon, hyphema, uveitis, loss of vision
Chagas' disease	Trypanosoma cruzi	Central and South America	Palpebral and periorbital oedema
Giardiasis	Giardia lamblia	Southeast Asia, Europe, USA and South Africa	Salt and pepper retinal changes, chorioretinitis, retinal haemorrhage and uveitis
Leishmaniasis	Leishmania spp	Africa, Mediterranean region, Middle East, parts of Asia and Central and South America	Visceral: conjunctivitis, uveitis and retinal haemorrhage; Cutaneous: lesions on eyelid, blepharoconjunctivitis; Mucocutaneous: severe ulceration, loss of the eye
Malaria	P. falciparum	Africa, Central and South America, Oceania and Asia	Retinal haemorrhage, papilloedema, cotton wool spots
Microsporidiosis	Microsporidia spp	Worldwide	Conjunctival hyperemia, punctate epithelial keratitis, hyphema, necrotizing keratitis, corneal ulcer
Rhinosporidiosis	R. seeberi	South America and Africa	Cojuctival granuloma
Toxoplasmosis	Toxoplasma gondii	Worldwide, South America	Congenital: strabismus, nystagmus and blindness; Acute aquired: Primarily; necrotizing chorioretinitis; Virtitis is common; Secondary findings include; scotoma, photophobia, blindness, Glaucoma, ↑ IOP, necrotizing inflammation, loss of central vision