
the filarial parasites of the eastern gorilla in the congo
a survey for parasites has been undertaken in 20 mountain
gorillas (gorilla gorilla beringei) from the eastern congo kivu
province.
six full-grown (two males and four females),
three adolescents
(one male and two females), and eleven
young gorillas were
examined, some of them during several
consecutive months.  nine
autopsies were performed.
no protozoa were discovered in the blood.
plasmodium parasites
which are common in gorillas and chimpanzees
from west africa
were never found in the eastern congo primates,
including ten
other gorillas examined previously and some fifty chimpanzees.
severe diarrhoea with a balantidiasis picture developed in two
young gorillas.  autopsy revealed however an intensive infection
with oesophagostomum stephanostomum and resulting fatty degenera-
tion of the liver.  oligotrichida belonging to the genus troglodytella
were commonly found in the intestinal tract.  oesophagostomum
stephanostomum eggs were consistently present in the stools of
the gorillas and autoinfection caused the death of several young
gorillas 4 to 6 weeks after their capture.
many microfilariae were found in the blood and the skin.  pre-
liminary communications were published mentioning the existence
of four different microfilariae in the blood of gorillas and of three
others in the dermal layers of the skin.  after a detailed study seven
species have been identified and described:  dipetalonema leopoldi,
d. gorillae, d. vanhoofi, d. streptocercum, microfilaria binucleata,
loa loa gorillae n.subsp. and onchocerca volvulus.  three of the
worms described have so far been discovered only in gorilla gorilla,
namely dipetalonema leopoldi, d. gorillae and loa loa gorillae.  two
of them were previously known from the chimpanzee, namely
d. vanhoofi and microfilaria binucleata.  one species, d. strepto-
cercum, first discovered in man and later described from the chimpan-
zee, is now also known from gorilla gorilla.  onchocerca volvulus has
been found in only one of the 20 gorillas examined.  gorilla gorilla
beringei in eastern congo might become through close contact
with man and his filarial vectors an abnormal or accidental host of
d. streptocercum and onchocerca volvulus or else might be considered
as an original reservoir of these filarial parasites of man.
