Onchocerca


Onchocerca

 [ong″ko-ser´kah] a genus of parasitic filaria. O. vol′vulus is a common parasite of humans, breeding in fast-flowing rivers and streams in tropical parts of the Americas and equatorial Africa, particularly West Africa. It is the etiologic agent of human onchocerciasis and is transmitted by the bites of blackflies (buffalo gnats) of the genus Simulium, in which the parasite passes part of its life cycle.

Onchocerca

(ong'kō-ser'kă), A genus of elongated filariform nematodes (family Onchocercidae) that inhabit the connective tissue of their hosts, usually within firm nodules in which these parasites are coiled and entangled. Synonym(s): Oncocerca [G. onkos, a barb, + kerkos, tail]

On·cho·cer·ca

(ong'kō-ser'kă) A genus of elongated filariform nematodes that inhabit host's connective tissue, usually within firm nodules in which these parasites are coiled and entangled.
Synonym(s): Oncocerca. [G. onkos, a barb, + kerkos, tail]