Mansonella streptocerca, (formerly Diptalonema streptocerca), is the scientific name of a human

Human

Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...

 parasitic roundworm causing the disease of streptocerciasis. It is a common parasite in the skin of humans in the rain forests of Africa, where it is thought to be a parasite of chimpanzees as well.

Mansonella streptocerca is one of four filarial nematodes that cause Subcutaneous Filariasis in humans. The other three filarial nematodes are Loa loa

Loa loa

Loa loa is the filarial nematode species that causes Loa loa filariasis. It is commonly known as the "eye worm". Its geographic distribution includes Africa and India....

 (the African eye worm), Onchocerca volvulus

Onchocerca volvulus

Onchocerca volvulus is a nematode that causes onchocerciasis or "river blindness" mostly in Africa. Long-term corneal inflammation, or keratitis, leads to thickening of the corneal stroma which ultimately leads to blindness. Humans are the only definitive host for O. volvulus. The intermediate host...

 (river blindness), and Dracunculus medinensis

Dracunculus medinensis

Dracunculus medinensis is a nematode that causes dracunculiasis.Dracunculiasis, also known as Guinea worm disease, is caused by the large female nematode, Dracunculus medinensis, which is among the longest nematodes infecting humans. The adult female is primarily larger than the adult male. The...

 (the guinea worm).

Life cycle

The contraction of a Mansonella infection can be better understood through an understanding of its life cycle. The life cycle involves two stages: one involving a Midge (genus Culicoides) and another involving a human host. First, a Midge ingests a blood meal from a human host. This allows a third-stage filarial larvae to enter the bite wound. Once inside the dermis, the larvae develop into adults, usually less than 1 mm from the surface of the skin. In terms of size, the females can reach 27 mm in length, whereas the males can be around 50 micrometers in diameter. These adults then produce non-periodic microfiliariae, which habituate in the skin but can also travel to the peripheral blood. These microfilariae are then passed onto the midge when the insect ingests a blood meal. Following the blood meal, microfilariae travel to the midge’s midgut through the hemocoel to the thoracic muscles. In the thoracic muscles the microfiliariae develop into first-stage larvae, followed up by third-stage development. In this latter stage the larvae travel to the midge’s proboscis, where it can subsequently infect another human host upon another blood meal ingestion.

Morphology

The adult form of M. streptocerca was discovered by Dr. Wayne M Meyers

Wayne M Meyers

Wayne M. Meyers, MD, PhD is an American physician, microbiologist, chemist, humanitarian, and medical missionary. He pioneered new medical techniques, discovered new infectious agents, unraveled the pathogenesis of many scourges of mankind, and trained countless researchers and scientist...

while working as a medical missionary in Africa.