1.1 Scientific discovery Early scientific milestones in filariasis history abroad include the following. 1863: Demarquay in Paris found microfilariae in hydrocele liquid of a Cuban. 1866: Wucherer found microfilariae in chyluria. 1872: Lewis found microfilariae in blood. 1877: Bancroft found a female adult filarial worm in the ulcer of lymph node of the arm. 1877: Manson found microfilariae in ...

background: dirofilaria immitis is a common nematode of the cardiovascular system, which infects carnivores all over the world. the infection is prevalent in dogs, but in cats and human is rare. dirofilariosis is transmitted by mosquitoes. cats are accidental hosts and are naturally resistant to the infection, compared to the dogs. mild infection can cause severe illness in cats and may lead to...

DNA sequence comparisons are useful for characterizing proposed new parasite species or strains. Microfilariae with an atypical arrangement of nuclei behind the cephalic space have been recently described in human blood samples from the Amazon region of Peru. Three blood specimens containing atypical microfilariae were genetically characterized using three DNA markers (5S ribosomal DNA, 12S rib...

BACKGROUND Among the arthropod-borne nematodes infesting dogs, Onchocerca lupi (Spirurida: Onchocercidae) is of increasing zoonotic concern, with new human cases of infection diagnosed in Turkey, Tunisia, Iran and the USA. Knowledge of the biology of this nematode is meagre. This study aimed at assessing the distribution and periodicity of O. lupi microfilariae from different body regions in na...

Here we describe, determine the prevalence, and examine the host-specificity of some parasitic nematode microfilariae in selected bird species from West and Central Africa. We used microscopy to determine the prevalence of microfilariae in 969 host individuals representing 121 rainforest bird species from Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire and Equatorial Guinea. Thirteen (11%) of these potential host spec...

The courses of IgG and IgM antibody levels against adult worm and microfilarial antigen were determined in isogenetic cotton rats infected quantitatively with Litomosoides carinii. Against both antigens, IgG as well as IgM, antibody levels exceeded significantly those of noninfected animals, and the IgG levels were generally higher than the IgM levels. The total antibody production was depresse...

Filariasis is a major public health problem in tropical countries like India. Conventional diagnosis is by demonstrating microfilariae (MF) in the peripheral blood smear. Nocturnal periodicity of the species endemic in India makes it difficult to find microfilariae in blood. Incidental detection of microfilariae (MF) in fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) smears of various sites in clinicall...

Dirofilaria immitis (Leidy 1856), a nematode parasite, is the etiologic agent of canine heartworm disease and mosquitoes are essential intermediate hosts. Mosquito susceptibility to the worms differ with species, strains and also among individuals of the same strain. To evaluate the degree of susceptibility of Rio de Janeiro laboratory raised strain of Aedes aegypti, we fed mosquitoes on canine...

Six hundred and eleven random-source dogs (338 male, 273 female) one year of age or older, from six sections of the city of Recife, Pernambuco, were examined antemortem for circulating microfilariae Dirofilaria immitis and Dipetalonema reconditum adult heartworm (D. immitis) antigen, and examined postmortem for adult heartworms. The prevalence of heartworm infection was 2.3% (14/611), as determ...