Dirofilaria hongkongensis infection presenting as recurrent shoulder mass

Parasitol Int. 2020 Aug:77:102117. doi: 10.1016/j.parint.2020.102117. Epub 2020 Mar 29.

Abstract

In 2012, a novel canine Dirofilaria species, D. hongkongensis was identified in Hong Kong that caused human diseases and subsequently reported in an Austrian traveller returning from the Indian subcontinent. Here we present a case of human infection by D. hongkongensis manifested as recurrent shoulder mass. Diagnosis was achieved by cox1 gene sequencing of the excised specimen. The case illustrated that parasitic infection represents an important differential diagnosis for musculoskeletal lesions.

Keywords: Dirofilaria hongkongensis; Human; Recurrent; Sequencing; Subcutaneous; Zoonosis.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Animals
  • Austria
  • Biopsy
  • Cyclooxygenase 1 / genetics
  • Diagnosis, Differential
  • Dirofilaria / isolation & purification*
  • Dirofilaria / pathogenicity
  • Dirofilariasis / diagnosis*
  • Dirofilariasis / transmission
  • Dogs
  • Female
  • Hong Kong
  • Humans
  • Phylogeny
  • Recurrence
  • Shoulder / parasitology*
  • Shoulder / pathology*
  • Subcutaneous Tissue / parasitology
  • Subcutaneous Tissue / pathology
  • Zoonoses / diagnosis
  • Zoonoses / parasitology
  • Zoonoses / transmission

Substances

  • Cyclooxygenase 1
  • PTGS1 protein, human