Differential length of Onchocerca volvulus infective larvae from the Cameroon rain forest and savanna

Martin Eichner , Alfons Renz , 1990
Tropical Medicine and Parasitology 41: 29-32

Institute of Tropical Medicine, University of Tübingen, Germany

Abstract

Infective larvae from the savanna strain of Onchocerca volvulus are significantly longer (662.6 ± 66.8 µm; n = 99) than those from the forest strain (624.2 ± 62.0 µm; n = 236). The length of the infective larvae is not influenced by the size, species or age post infectionem (pi) of the Simulium damnosum s. l. vectors nor by the localization in the fly's head, thorax or abdomen, the worm load per fly or the thoracic volume per larva. However, the lengths of infective larvae within one individual fly have a conspiciously low variance.


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