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The filarial worms Dipetalonema digitatum and D. gracile in monkeys

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 April 2009

Winfrith A. F. Webber
Affiliation:
National Institute for Medical Research, London
Frank Hawking
Affiliation:
National Institute for Medical Research, London

Extract

1. Filarial worms were found in the peritoneal cavity of a monkey (Macaca speciosa) from Bengal. They were identified as Dipetalonema digitatum (Chandler, 1929).

2. The microfilariae were unsheathed and showed a well-marked nocturnal periodicity in the blood.

3. No development of the microfilariae was detected in Aëdes aegypti, A. albopictus, Anopheles quadrimaculatus or An. stephensi, but only a few mosquitoes were observed.

4. Six female worms and one male were transplanted into the peritoneal cavity of a rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta). Ten weeks later microfilariae were found in the blood of the monkey and they persisted for at least 16 weeks.

5. Filarial worms (Dipetalonema gracile) were discovered in the peritoneal cavity of a monkey (Cebus apella) from Brazil.

6. The microfilariae were unsheathed and were found in the blood. They showed no periodicity.

7. No development of the microfilariae was detected in Aëdes aegypti, A. albopictus, Anopheles maculipennis atroparvus or An. stephensi.

8. No pathological lesions due to either of these worms were detected in the monkeys.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1955

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References

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