Experimental ocular schistosomiasis.

Schistosomiasis is a widespread incapacitating disease, but ocular involvement is relatively rare. The first of the few cases of ocular schistosomiasis recorded in the literature was that reported in Egypt by Sobhy Bey (1928). Others were recorded by Wilson (I934), Barsoum (1938), Ibrahim (I 94I), Kamel (I948), Naim (1948), Mohamed (1956), and Sparrow (I966). All these took the form of bilharzial granuloma in the conjunctiva, which revealed the presence of Schistosoma haematobium ova. Adult Schistosoma worms were reported for the first time by Badir (I 946) in a branch of the superior ophthalmic vein. Newton, Kanchanaranya, and Previte (i968) extracted a specimen of Schistosoma mansoni from the anterior chamber. Other ocular lesions in cases of generalized schistosomiasis, which were claimed to have responded to antischistosomal treatment, were albuminuric retinitis (Ahmad, 1924); embolus in the inferior nasal branch of the central retinal artery (Cecchetto, I931); keratitis, iritis, chorio-retinitis, vitreous opacities (de Andrade, I940); mydriasis, palpebral oedema (Meira, Behmer, and Bloise, 1951); chronic conjunctivitis, corneal dystrophy, exophthalmos, chronic uveitis, tortuosity of the retinal veins, errors of refraction especially mild myopia (Machado, I956); and pre-retinal haemorrhage (Massa, Laurijs, and Wijns,