Development of Onchocerca volvulus microfilariae injected into Simulium species from Cameroon

Abstract. Microfilariae (mff) of the savanna and forest strains of Onchocerca volvulus (Leuckart) were injected intrathoracically into adult females of Simulium damnosum Theobald sensu stricto, S.sirbanum Vajime & Dunbar, S.squamosum Enderlein and S.mengense Vajime & Dunbar. Nine days post infection (pi) 27–29% of the savanna mff and 31–38% of the forest strain had developed to third‐stage larvae (L3), irrespective of the fly species, size or injection dose (5, 10 or 15 mff). Savanna flies supported the development of forest O. volvulus better than forest flies, in contrast to the results after per os infections. Therefore, in these four species of the S.damnosum complex from Cameroon, the peritrophic membrane is considered to be the main factor limiting the success rate of microfilarial development following the ingestion of blood infections, while the fly's haemolymph and intracellular environment play minor roles.