Drascheiasis

a parasitic disease of solidungulates caused by the nematode Drascheia megastoma. It occurs everywhere, especially in southern regions. Drascheias are small helminths 7-13 mm long that develop in an intermediate host—housefly, stable fly, and so forth. Drascheia larvae swallowed by animals become sexually mature and settle under the gastric mucosa and in its tumorlike formations. If heavily infested, the animals develop inflammatory gastroenteritis, progressive emaciation, and periodic colic.