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For anyone who enjoys, or at least tries to enjoy, Thanksgiving in America, you can be thankful that these insects don’t exist in America; According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, they are specific to the “Old World,” that is, Europe, Africa, and Asia. They are most often found in the Mediterranean region, but reports in recent years have shown that they are expanding into new areas of Europe – particularly towards the east and north. In a report on cases in Estonia earlier this year, researchers said it was also emerging in Lithuania, Latvia and Finland.
Researchers attribute the creep of this insect to climate change and globalization. But in another report this year of a case in Austria (believed to have been acquired while the patient was vacationing in Greece), researchers also speculated that the worms may have adapted to using humans as a true host. This was suggested by researchers in Serbia in a 2023 case report in which an infection caused microfilariae in a patient’s blood. Researchers speculate that such cases, considered rare, may increase.
At the moment, people in America have less to worry about. D. repents Not found in the US, but has some relatives here that sometimes appear in humans. D. immitis, cause dog heartworm, and D. tenuisThe latter can cause similar cases D. repentsInsects keep moving under the skin, especially around the eyes. So far this worm has been found mainly in raccoons in Florida.
For people who find insects crawling under their skin, the outlook is generally good. Treatment includes surgical removal of the worms, which largely cures the problem, as well as anti-parasitic or antibiotic medications to eliminate the infection or any co-infections. In the woman’s case, her symptoms disappeared after doctors removed the worm from her eyelid.
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