“Traumatic as childbirth”: Tiny beetles behind Australia’s rare eye infection

Sydney:

A rare and painful affliction called “Christmas Eye”, caused by the toxic secretions of a tiny native beetle, has re-emerged to plague residents in a remote part of southeastern Australia.

The poorly researched eye condition may seem like a minor symptom of the excesses of the holiday season, but experts say the excruciating pain is often compared to giving birth.

One of the most unusual aspects of the Christmas Eye is that it is usually only found in the Albury-Wodonga region of Australia, about 300 kilometers (186 mi) northeast of Melbourne.

It is also known as “Albury-Wodonga syndrome” and “harvester’s keratitis” because of its association with agricultural work.

Area optometrist Rob Holloway said Christmas eye appeared in the Australian summer “hence the name”, and was often easy to diagnose.

“The level of pain usually makes it a quick diagnosis,” he told AFP.

“It’s etched in their memory. The common response is ‘You poor bastard’.”

Wodonga optometrist Kelly Gibbons said she’s heard people “comparing it to childbirth”.

“These people are in great pain,” he told national broadcaster ABC.

Holloway said Christmas eye is caused by a native species of orthopterous beetle, which are less than 1 millimeter in length.

The beetles excrete a toxic compound when crushed—for example, by rubbing one’s eye.

“The insect contains a component called pedarin, which is a blistering agent,” Holloway said.

“It gets secreted onto the surface of the eye, and it blisters the surface of the eye and falls off.”

There has been a recent spike in cases in Albury-Wodonga, Holloway said, which was likely linked to heavy downpours in the winter and spring.

“This year has been strange. We didn’t have any at all until the week before Christmas, but since then we’ve been inundated for maybe a fortnight,” he said.

“We’ve seen 25 to 30 cases since Christmas. In a normal year you might get 10. There have been a lot, usually a lot more than that.”

Fortunately, Holloway said, Christmas eye was easy to treat with conventional treatments such as antibiotics.

“The important thing is that it heals very well. There is no evidence for this after a fortnight.”

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and was auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)