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Disambiguating links to Bushbuck (link changed to Northern bushbuck; link changed to Northern bushbuck) using DisamAssist.

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{{Short description|Species of roundworm}}
{{Speciesbox
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| genus = Elaeophora
| species = sagitta
| authority = ([[Otto Friedrich Bernhard von Linstow|Linstow]], 1907) Anderson & Bain, 1976
| synonyms =
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'''''Elaeophora sagitta''''' is a [[parasite|parasitic]] [[nematode]] found in the heart, [[coronary artery|coronary arteries]] and [[pulmonary artery|pulmonary arteries]] of several [[ruminant]] species and African buffaloes in Africa. Infestation usually occurs without significant health effects in the [[Greater kudu]] (''Tragelaphus strepsiceros''), but may affect cardiac function in some other host species.

==Discovery and nomenclature==
This species was first described in 1907 from the heart of a [[Northern bushbuck|Bushbuck]] (''Tragelaphus scriptus'') from [[Cameroon]], and named ''Filaria sagitta''.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Von Linstow | first1 = O.F.B. | author-link = Otto Friedrich Bernhard Von Linstow | year = 1907 | title = Nematoden aus dem Königlichen Zoologischen Museum in Berlin | journal = Mitteilungen der Zoologischen Museum, Berlin | volume = 3 | pages = 251–259 }}</ref> In 1926, it was transferred to the genus ''Cordophilus'', as ''Cordophilus sagittus.''<ref>{{cite journal | doi = 10.1080/00359192509519613 | last1 = Mönnig | first1 = H.O. | year = 1926 | title = Three new helminths | journal = Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa | volume = 13 | issue = 3| pages = 291–298 }}</ref> In 1976, the genus ''Cordophilus'' was made a [[synonym (taxonomy)|synonym]] of the genus ''Elaeophora'', so this species became ''Elaeophora sagitta''.<ref>Anderson, R.C. and O. Bain (1976) "CIH Keys to the Nematode Parasites of Vertebrates." Commonwealth Agriculture Bureaux: Farnham, England, Vol. 3, pp. 59-116.</ref>

==Hosts and geographic distribution==
Adults of ''E. sagitta'' have been found attached to the inner walls of the chambers and vessels of the heart, as well as the [[arteriole]]s of the lungs of various hosts: [[Northern bushbuck|Bushbuck]] (''Tragelaphus scriptus''), [[Greater kudu]] (''Tragelaphus strepsiceros''), [[bongo (antelope)|bongos]] (''Tragelaphus eurycerus''), [[nyala]] (''Tragelaphus angasii''), [[common eland]] (''Taurotragus oryx''), and [[African Forest Buffalo]] (''Syncerus caffer nanus''). This species has also been found in unspecified "cattle".<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite journal | doi = 10.1136/vr.88.13.342 | last1 = Walker | first1 = W.D. | year = 1971 | title = ''Cordophilus sagittus'' in Swaziland | journal = Veterinary Record | volume = 88 | issue = 13| pages = 342–343 | pmid = 5103439 }}</ref> Lesions similar to those described in ''E. sagitta'' infestations were also found in [[sheep]] (''Ovis aries''), but the actual parasites were not recovered.<ref name="Huchzermeyer" /> ''E. sagitta'' has been found in several African nations: [[Cameroon]], [[Eswatini]], [[Kenya]], [[Malawi]], [[Mozambique]], the [[Republic of the Congo]], and [[South Africa]].

==Life cycle==
The life cycle of ''E. sagitta'' has not been studied in detail. It is [[viviparity|viviparous]], since the female sheds microfilariae, rather than eggs, directly into the blood stream.

==Prevalence==
Infestation rates as high as 74%<ref name="Pletcher">{{cite journal | last1 = Pletcher | first1 = J.M. | last2 = Boomker | first2 = J. | last3 = Vos | first3 = V. De | last4 = Gardiner | first4 = C.H. | year = 1989 | title = Lesions in the heart and lungs of the greater kudu (''Tragelaphus strepsiceros'') caused by ''Cordophilus sagittus'' | jstor =20095001 | journal = Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine | volume = 20 | issue = 4| pages = 456–470 }}</ref> and over 90%<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = McCully | first1 = R.M. | last2 = Niekerk | first2 = J.W. Van | last3 = Basson | first3 = P.A. | year = 1967 | title = The pathology of ''Cordophilus sagittus'' (v. Linstow, 1907) infestation in the kudu (''Tragelaphus strepsiceros'' (Pallas, 1766)), bushbuck (''Tragelaphus scriptus'' (Pallas, 1766)) and African buffalo (''Syncerus caffer'' (Sparrman, 1779)) in South Africa | journal = Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Research | volume = 34 | issue = 1| pages = 137–159 | pmid = 6069322 }}</ref> have been reported in free-ranging [[kudu]]. Infestation in a herd of [[Common Eland|eland]] (''Taurotragus oryx'') in Kruger National Park was reported as "nearly half of 33" individuals.<ref name = "Young" /> A slaughterhouse survey in Swaziland yielded a very low prevalence–77 of 18,458 (0.416%) -- of bovine hearts showing lesions typical of ''E. sagitta'' infestation.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> In other host species, only isolated cases have been reported.

==Clinical significance==
''E. sagitta'' adults are typically found in the [[ventricle (heart)|heart ventricles]], as well as [[coronary circulation|coronary]] and [[pulmonary artery|pulmonary]] arteries, and occasionally coronary veins. They produce [[aneurysm]]al (bulging) lesions in the vessel walls which are 1–2 cm in diameter, and have been associated with [[hypertrophy]] and [http://www.anzcp.org/CCP/Pathophysiology/Ventricular%20dilatation.htm dilatation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080720151434/http://www.anzcp.org/CCP/Pathophysiology/Ventricular%20dilatation.htm |date=2008-07-20 }} of heart ventricles, [[thrombosis]] (blood clots) and [[myocarditis]] (inflammation of the heart muscle). The degree of interference with general circulatory function has not been studied in detail. As one author points out, however, if the infested host is fleeing from a lion, only a minor difference in cardiopulmonary efficiency could certainly affect survival.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = McCully | first1 = R.M. | last2 = Niekerk | first2 = J.W. Van | last3 = Basson | first3 = P.A. | year = 1967 | title = The pathology of ''Cordophilus sagittus'' (v. Linstow, 1907) infestation in the kudu (''Tragelaphus strepsiceros''), bushbuck (''Tragelaphus scriptus'') and African buffalo (''Syncerus caffer'') in South Africa | journal = Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Research | volume = 34 | issue = 1| pages = 137–160 | pmid = 6069322 }}</ref>

''E. sagitta'' infestation appears to be clinically [[benignity|benign]] in [[greater kudu]].<ref name="Pletcher" /> Some fatalities in a herd of [[Common Eland|eland]] were attributed to ''E. sagitta'' infestation, though many of the eland were also "heavily" infested with various gastrointestinal parasites.<ref name="Young">{{cite journal | last1 = Young | first1 = E. | last2 = Basson | first2 = P.A. |name-list-style=vanc | year = 1976 | title = Cordophilosis and fatal gastro-intestinal verminosis in eland | journal = Journal of the South African Veterinary Association | volume = 47 | issue = 1| page = 57 | pmid =1263197 }}</ref> In the Congo, ''E. sagitta'' infestation was suggested to be one of the factors which led to mortality in several [[bongo (antelope)|bongos]] (''Tragelaphus eurycerus'') and one [[African Forest Buffalo]] (''Syncerus caffer nanus'')<ref name="Huchzermeyer">{{cite journal | last1 = Huchzermeyer | first1 = F.W. | last2 = Penrith | first2 = M.-L. | last3 = Elkan | first3 = P.W. |name-list-style=vanc | year = 2001 | title = Multifactorial mortality in bongos and other wild ungulates in the north of the Congo Republic | journal = Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Research | volume = 68 | issue = 4| pages = 263–269 | pmid = 12026060 }}</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q5353125}}

[[Category:Spirurida]]
[[Category:Parasitic nematodes of mammals]]
[[Category:Veterinary helminthology]]
[[Category:Bovine diseases]]
[[Category:Fauna of Africa]]
[[Category:Nematodes described in 1976]]

Elaeophora sagitta - Revision history

imported>Onel5969: Disambiguating links to Bushbuck (link changed to Northern bushbuck; link changed to Northern bushbuck) using DisamAssist.