Loa Loa aka The Eye Worm
Loa loa filariasis is a skin and eye disease caused by the Nematode worm, Loa Loa . Humans contract this disease through the bite of a Deer fly or Mango fly. In the human host, Loa Loa larvae migrate to the subcutaneous tissue where they mature to adult worms in approximately one year, but sometimes up to four years. Adult worms migrate in the subcutaneous tissues, mating and producing more microfilaria. The adult worms can live up to 17 years in the human host.Symptoms include the feeling of the parasite itself moving across the eye ball for at least 15 minutes, swelling and itching of the skin, and large cysts.Like other nematodes the eye worm as a smaller hydro-static skeleton.