Morphological differences between Venezuelan and African microfilariae of Onchocerca volvulus

Comparative morphological and biometric characteristics of microfilariae of Onchocerca gutturosa and O. volvulus from different geographical areas (Upper Orinoco, Venezuela; Togo; Liberia) were assessed. "Stepwise" discriminant analysis and Mahalanobis estimators were applied to measure distance between populations. The results indicate a strong similarity between the two strains from the Upper Orinoco (Venezuela) and the Togo strain, as well as a clear separation between these strains and that of O. gutturosa. The Liberian strain was easily distinguishable from microfilariae from Togo and Venezuela. Discriminant analysis showed the Liberian deme to be as different from the Venezuelan and Togo demes as these demes were from microfilariae of the reference species, O. gutturosa. Although it is necessary to confirm these data using formalin-fixed specimens obtained from the skin, the present findings suggest the existence of geographically-different strains of O. volvulus in America and Africa.