Setariasis

a helminthiasis of animals caused by filariae of the genus Setaria (discovered by Viborg and described in 1795), which parasitize the abdominal cavity, the brain, and the spinal cord. Setarid larvae circulate with the blood.

Setariasis of horses and cattle is widespread in Europe, Asia, Africa, and America. The disease affects sheep primarily in the Far East and Southern Asia and red deer and Japanese deer primarily in the Mountain Altai and the Far East.

The source of the causative agent of setariasis is infected animals, and the carriers are bloodsucking mosquitoes and flies. Clinical symptoms depend on the degree of the helminthic affection of the animal and on the localization of the parasites; for example, when the brain and spinal cord are affected, the disease proceeds with the symptoms of gid and paralysis of the hind limbs. Setariasis is diagnosed according to the results of laboratory blood tests, and in some cases diagnosis is made posthumously. The treatment of the disease has not been established; preventive measures include the control of insects that transmit setarids.