Periorbital cysticercosis: Case report

Abstract

Cysticercosis is a larval cestodosis. It is due to the development in human body of the larval form of Taenia  solium, Cysticercus cellulosae. A person can be infected in two ways: by eating the infected pork, resulting in Taenia in the intestine (taeniasis) and excretion of infective eggs in faeces, secondly, by ingesting food or water contaminated with faeces containing eggs, resulting in the development of larval forms containing cysticerci of Taenia solium (cysticercosis). This Disease has a worldwide distribution, mainly related to poor hygiene. In Africa, several outbreaks are reported in south of the Sahara. The location of the larvae in the central nervous system (neurocysticercosis) represents the most severe form of this disease. At eye level, cysticercosis can occur either in the related structures (eyelids, conjunctiva, orbit), but these locations are rare, either in the eyeball more frequently. We report the first case of cysticercosis (periorbital cyst) diagnosed in the ophthalmology department of the University Hospital of Brazzaville (UHB) in a patient from Madagascar.