Studies onOnchocerca cervicalisRailliet and Henry 1910 microfilariae in the jird,Meriones unguiculatus

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Abstract
Microfilariae ofOnchocerca cervicaliswere injected subcutaneously into jirds,Meriones unguiculatus. At 72 hours post-inoculation the microfilariae had redistributed and the distribution pattern remained stable for approximately 100 days. Live active microfilariae were recovered from jird skin 168 days post-inoculation.Fifty nine per cent of the microfilariae recovered at 72 hours were from the skin of the tail and inguinal region. The inguinal region was the preferred site in male hosts and the tail in females, the difference in distribution being attributed to temperature differences in the inguinal region of the hosts. It is suggested that the microfilariae migrate along a thermal gradient rather than at random.