Dipetalonema from the eye of a man in Oregon, U.S.A. A case report

A 21-mm filarial worm appeared suddenly in the anterior chamber of the right eye of a 32-year-old man in western Oregon. By a simultaneous irrigation-aspiration procedure, it was removed alive and only slightly damaged and was identified as a female Dipetalonema in the fourth stage of development. It was the third such case to be reported from western Oregon. In this and one other case the worms were morphologically similar to adult worms identified as Dipetalonema arbuta Highby 1943 from the body cavity of the porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum) and a similar species, Dipetalonema sprenti Anderson 1953, from the body cavity of the beaver (Castor canadensis).