Reproduction in female Onchocerca gibsoni.

The embryonic stages in the uteri of adult female Onchocerca gibsoni were studied to determine the reproductive potential of this worm. It was concluded that female O. gibsoni undergo cyclic phases of reproduction, each lasting about 14.5 weeks. Once insemination occurred and a cycle commenced, the rate of embryonic development was reasonably constant irrespective of the age of the worm. Mature young females had fewer embryos than older females but both contained a similar proportion (about 19%) of abnormal embryos. In comparison to the older female worms, a greater proportion of mature young females were in the early phase of a reproductive cycle and fewer were actively reproducing. This difference was considered to be due to a greater access of males to older than to recently mature females. There were marked similarities between these observations with O. gibsoni and those reported for O. volvulus, providing further evidence of the usefulness of O. gibsoni as a model for O. volvulus.