Cutaneous Filaroid Infection

a helminthic disease of solidungulates and ruminants that is caused by roundworms of the family Filariidae. The long, threadlike nematode causative agents are white. In horses they infest the subcutaneous tissue, where they rupture the blood vessels of the skin and cause superficial bleeding. The parasites are also found in the skin and subcutaneous tissue of cattle and deer. The intermediate host is the bloodsucking fly Haematobia atripaplis.

Cutaneous filaroid infection occurs mainly in spring and summer. Traumatization of the skin and heavy bleeding exhaust the animals and reduce their productivity and work capacity. No cure is known. The disease is prevented by periodic treatment of animals with insecticides and repellents during the swarming time of bloodsucking insects.