| Libyostrongylus dentatus, L. douglassii and Codiostomum struthionis are nematodes that infect ostriches. Codiostomum struthionis and L. douglassii have been reported in ostriches raised in Africa, Europe and the Americas (Brazil and USA) while L. douglassii has also been described in Australia. Although the origin of ostriches is Africa, L. dentatus was first described in birds from the USA and later in Brazil. In addition, all ostriches in Brazil so far examined by our group had mixed infection of Libyostrongylus species. The aim of this study was to determine the presence of mixed infections in wild ostriches from Africa. For this fecal samples collected from five ostriches (subspecies Struthio camelus molybdophanes) from Abijata-Shalla Lakes National Park, in Ethiopia, Africa, were cultured to obtain infective larvae that were preserved in alcohol 70 %, transported to Brazil, and identified to species level based on total size, sheath tail length and morphology of the tail of the larvae. Libyostrongylus douglassii was not found while L. dentatus and C. struthionis were observed in all five samples with a proportion of 76 and 24%, respectively. Total mean size (lower and upper 95% CI of the mean) for L. dentatus and C. struthionis were 809 (798, 820) and 724 (716,731), respectively. Sheath tail length mean for L. dentatus was 64 (63, 65), similar when statistically compared to measurements of L. dentatus examined in Brazil, indicating that this parameter is better for morphological diagnosis of this genus. These results support the hypothesis that the origin of mixed infection with Libyostrongylus species in ostriches may be related to the interbreeding of ostrich’s subspecies during the development of the commercial ostrich farms. The analysis of Libyostrongylus infection of wild ostriches from other African regions is underway and will contribute to a better understanding of the phylogeny of the genus Libyostrongylus. |
