Microfilariae

The microfilaria (plural microfilariae, sometimes abbreviated mf) is an early stage in the life cycle of certain parasitic nematodes in the family Onchocercidae. In these species, the adults live in a tissue or the circulatory system of vertebrates (the "definitive hosts"). They release microfilariae into the bloodstream of the vertebrate host. The microfilariae are taken up by blood-feeding arthropod vectors (the "intermediate hosts"). In the intermediate host the microfilariae develop into infective larvae that can be transmitted to a new vertebrate host.

The presence of microfilariae in the host bloodstream is called "microfilaraemia". The success of filariasis eradication programs is typically gauged by the reduction in numbers of circulating microfilariae in infested individuals within a geographic area.

All parasites need a mechanism for spreading to new individual hosts. Parasites in the lower gastrointestinal tract usually shed eggs in the host feces. Tissue-dwelling parasites, such as Trichinella spiralis (cause of trichinosis), rely on new hosts eating the tissues of their current host. For members of the family Onchocercidae whose adults live in the "closed" vertebrate circulatory system, transmission to a new host is achieved by the microfilaria stage, with the help of blood-feeding arthropod vectors.

This system is seen in the life cycle of Elaeophora schneideri. The adults of E. schneideri typically reside in the carotid artery of its definitive host, the Mule deer. The female may be up to 12 cm (almost 5 inches) long, and releases microfilariae which measure 207 by 13 µm (or 0.008 by 0.00051 inches) into the bloodstream of the host. The blood flow carries the microfilariae away from the female in the carotid artery, and directly into the branching arteries of the head and face. Because of their size, the microfilariae pass easily through successively smaller vessels, becoming physically lodged in the small capillaries near the skin surface of the face and head.

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