[Occurrence of Onchocerca lienalis (Stiles, 1892) in cattle in Austria]

The prevalence of O. lienalis in 345 Austrian cattle was determined by detection of microfilariae in the skin. Though only one among 59 male animals yielded a positive result, 46.5% of the female cattle showed to be infected with the parasite. Comparing the presence of adult worms in the gastrosplenic ligament and that of larval stages in the skin a correlation of 87.5% could be obtained. Most of the microfilariae were concentrated in the umbilical region but with severely infested animals they also were found in the skin of the udder, head, ear and neck. Seasonal periodicity of microfilariae was not observed.