SUBCLINICAL CYATHOSTOMIASIS AND UNIDENTIFIED HELMINTHIASIS IN A JUVENILE EMU (DROMAIUS-NOVAEHOLLANDIAE)

The nematode Cyathostoma variegatum (a lungworm) was present in the di stal trachea and proximal bronchi of an 8-mo-old emu that was euthanat ized after fracturing the left tibiotarsus. Clinical signs of infectio n were not present prior to euthanasia and abnormalities were not note d on gross or histologic examination of the respiratory tract. The abs ence of respiratory signs in this and other emus underscores the need for routine fecal examinations to interrupt the inadvertent spread of this potentially life-threatening parasite. In addition to the lungwor ms, large helminth eggs were present in renal and reproductive tissue. Egg morphology was suggestive of species of Deletrocephalus or Parade letrocephalus. The mechanism by which these eggs became lodged in this ectopic site is unknown.