Imported Intraocular Gnathostomiasis with Subretinal Tracks Confirmed by Western Blot Assay

• Published in: Korean journal of parasitology 2012, Vol.50 (1), p.73-78
• Main Authors: Yang, Ji-Ho, Kim, Moo-Sang, Kim, Eung-Suk, Na, Byoung-Kuk, Yu, Seung-Young, Kwak, Hyung-Woo
• Format: Article
• Language: Korean
• ISSN: 0023-4001; 1738-0006

We report a case of intraocular gnathostomiasis diagnosed by western blot assay in a patient with subretinal tracks. A 15-year-old male patient complained of blurred vision in the right eye, lasting for 2 weeks. Eight months earlier, he had traveled to Vietnam for 1 week and ate raw wild boar meat and lobster. His best-corrected visual acuity was 20/20 in both eyes and anterior chamber examination revealed no abnormalities. Fundus examination showed subretinal tracks in the right eye. Fluorescein angiography and indocyanine green angiography showed linear hyperfluorescence of the subretinal lesion observed on fundus in the right eye. Ultrasound examination revealed no abnormalities. Blood tests indicated mild eosinophilia (7.5%), and there was no abnormality found by systemic examinations. Two years later, the patient visited our department again for ophthalmologic evaluation. Visual acuity remained 20/20 in both eyes and the subretinal tracks in the right eye had not changed since the previous examination. Serologic examination was performed to provide a more accurate diagnosis, and the patient's serum reacted strongly to the $Gnathostoma$ $nipponicum$ antigen by western blot assay, which led to a diagnosis of intraocular gnathostomiasis. This is the first reported case of intraocular gnathostomiasis with subretinal tracks confirmed serologically using western blot in Korea.