Seasonal prevalence of onchocerca-like microfilaria in camels in Kuwait

Infection of the camel [Camelus dromedarius] with Onchocerca- like microfilaria is recorded for the first time in Kuwait. Throughout a period of 14 months, the blood of 284 camels were examined, from which 32 were found infected with the microfilaria. Infections were recorded in all months, except during summer [July to September] and February. The highest monthly incidence [27%] was detected in June at end of spring. It was suggested that harsh environmental conditions in Kuwait during summer either arrest development of microfilariae or influence their diurnal distribution in the tissues of the camel

Philoptholmasis: a potential public health hazard in Kuwait

During a survey on the intramolluscan larval digenean fauna in Kuwait Bay, the intertidal prosobranch snail, Clypeomorus bifasciata [Sowerby, 1855], was found to shed characteristic philophthalmid cercariae. Peak shedding appears to occur during the spring and summer. The cercariae were used for experimental infections of chicks and ducklings that ultimately yielded adult eye flukes resembling those of Philophthalmus hegeneri [Penner and Fried, 1963]. This is the first confirmed report of a potential snail-born zoonotic infection in the Kuwait Bay. The public health importance of these findings is discussed