Barking mad! Thai woman finds dog heartworm wriggling inside her
A Thai doctor issued a public warning after a patient discovered a dog heartworm in her body, believed to have been transmitted from pets to humans via mosquito bites.
The doctor from FMC Thailand Clinic in the Isaan province of Nakhon Ratchasima shared a video of a white worm moving on a tissue on the clinic’s official Facebook page. The doctor explained that the condition is called dirofilariasis and provided information about its cause to the clinic’s followers.
According to the post, the white worm shown in the video was identified as a dog heartworm, typically found in dogs, cats, and wild animals across Europe, Asia, and Africa.
Mosquitoes act as vectors, carrying the worm from animals to humans. Although the worm cannot fully mature within the human body, it can still cause dirofilariasis, which often presents as a lump in or around the eye. This lump may lead to itching, redness, irritation, or swelling.
Treatment involves surgical removal of the lump. To prevent infection, people are advised to avoid mosquito bites and eliminate mosquito breeding sites. Pet owners should also administer regular heartworm prevention medication to their animals.
The doctor at FMC Thailand, Natthakaphat Rattanaphithoon, revealed in an interview with ThaiRath that he received the video from a female patient living in the eastern province of Rayong.
The woman contacted him to seek advice about her symptoms, which included eye pain and itching. Natthakaphat advised her to visit a nearby hospital for a diagnosis. The hospital prescribed anthelmintics, but her condition had not improved after 21 days.
She contacted him again in March and reported a visible lump in her eye. A hospital near her home was still unable to identify the cause and prescribed anthelmintics once more.
The woman later shared a video of the worm, revealing that it had emerged from the lump beneath her eye. The lump eventually moved to her cheek, where surgical removal is now required. As of now, she is awaiting surgery.
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