TY - JOUR AU - Arya, Lalan Kumar AU - Rathinam, Sivakumar AU - Lalitha, Prajna AU - Kim, Usha AU - Ghatani, Sudeep AU - Tandon, Veena T1 - Trematode Fluke Procerovum varium as Cause of Ocular Inflammation in Children, South India T2 - Emerging Infectious Disease journal PY - 2016 VL - 22 IS - 2 SP - 192 SN - 1080-6059 AB - Trematodes are recognized as a group of emerging parasites in tropical countries. We identified a trematode as a cause of ocular granulomas that developed in children who bathed in ponds or rivers in South India. DNA was isolated from patients’ surgically excised granulomas and from the trematode cercariae (larvae) released by the snail Melanoides tuberculata in water in which the children bathed. Real-time and conventional PCRs were performed that targeted ribosomal DNA regions spanning the internal transcribed spacer 2 and 28S sequences of this trematode. The PCR-amplified products were subjected to bidirectional sequencing. Analysis of sequences for the granuloma samples and the trematode cercariae showed maximum sequence similarity with Procerovum varium (family Heterophyidae). Our results confirmed the etiology of the ocular infection, implicating snail vectors as environmental risk factors for ocular parasitosis. KW - granuloma KW - uveitis KW - trematode KW - cercaria KW - real-time PCR KW - sequencing KW - ribosomal DNA KW - eye disease KW - child KW - fresh water KW - lakes KW - ponds KW - rivers KW - parasites KW - India DO - 10.3201/eid2202.150051 UR - https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/22/2/15-0051_article ER - End of Reference