Setaria tundra, what do we know, what is still to be discovered?

Abstract

Over the past years, the nematode species from the Onchocercidae family, Setaria tundra, has expanded its range by thousands of kilometres from subpolar to subtropical climate zone. Its presence has been confirmed in seven new countries. The appearance of this parasite in many other European countries, especially central and southern ones, is highly probable. In recent years, its mass appearance has led to the numerous fall of reindeer in Fennoscandia, thus causing significant economic damage. There is also a growing risk of its gradation in Central Europe, which threatens overpopulated wild deer species and possibly farm animals, however there is no information if other than mosquitoes blood-sucking arthropods act as its vector. This paper covers the range of occurrence of S. tundra in Europe, all of the reported intermediate and definitive hosts, phylogeny, biology, morphology, health effects, and treatment methods.