Filariasis and microfilariasis in parrots in the eastern islands of Indonesia

From 1978 to 1983, 411 bird submissions consisting of 911 birds were received in our laboratory for diagnosis. Filariasis occurred in four submissions (0.97% of total) consisting of four birds (0.44% of total), and microfilariasis was diagnosed in 34 submissions (8.27% of total) consisting of 123 birds (13.5% of total). Adult filariae were found in the abdominal air sacs of two cockatoos and two red lories and identified as Cardiofilaria sp. Although filariasis and microfilariasis in birds are found world-wide, there seems to have been no report made previously in Indonesia.