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Parasites

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Ophthalmology

  • 116 Accesses

Synonyms

Parasitic diseases; Parasitic infections

Definition

Parasitic disease of the eye includes any infection, infestation, or inflammation (e.g., neuro- and chorioretinitis, uveitis, keratitis) caused by any number of organisms (ranging from protozoans to helminths).

Structure

The manifestations of parasitic infections can either stem from systemic infection or be ocularly localized. Infections are wide ranging in their presentation. Detailed below are some of the most common etiologic agents and their ocular manifestations.

Clinical Relevance

  1. (A)

    Parasitic retinitis and its causative organisms.

    Toxoplasmosis (causative agent: Toxoplasma gondii) produces a necrotizing retinitis and is the most common cause of infectious retinitis in immunocompetent patients. Common signs include decreased vision, photophobia, floaters, vascular sheathing, full-thickness retinal necrosis, and a fluffy, yellow-white retinal lesion with overlying vitreous reaction. Toxoplasmosis infection is...

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References

  • Cook GC, Zumla A, Manson P (2009) Manson’s tropical diseases, 22nd ed. Saunders, Edinburgh

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  • Garcia H, Tanowitz HB, Brutto OH del (2013) Neuroparasitology and tropical neurology. Elsevier, Amsterdam

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  • Kean BH, Sun T, Ellsworth RM (1991) Color atlas/text of ophthalmic parasitology. Igaku-Shoin, New York

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  • Riordan-Eva P, Cunningham E (2011) Vaughan & Asbury’s general ophthalmology, 18th edition. McGraw Hill Professional

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Marcelo Cerullo

Authors
  1. Marcelo Cerullo
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Marcelo Cerullo .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept of Ophthal & Optometry,AKH, Medical University of Wien Dept of Ophthal & Optometry,AKH, Wien, Austria

    Ursula Schmidt-Erfurth

  2. Department of Ophthalmology, Goethe University of Frankfurt am Main Department of Ophthalmology, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

    Thomas Kohnen

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© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Cerullo, M. (2014). Parasites. In: Schmidt-Erfurth, U., Kohnen, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Ophthalmology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-35951-4_879-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-35951-4_879-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-35951-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference MedicineReference Module Medicine

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