Eleaophorosis: Background

Eleaphorosis is a parasitic disease caused by the nematode Elaeophora schneideri, which resides in the carotid arteries. Larvae accumulate in the blood capillaries of the head and face and are picked up and transmitted by horseflies. The disease occurs naturally in mule deer, white-tailed deer, elk, and domestic sheep and goats. The adult parasite is a long, pearly-white roundworm (females are about the length and diameter of a paperclip) that inhabits the terminal branches of the common carotid arteries. The parasite can also occur in bighorn sheep, bison and pronghorn.