{{Taxobox | name = Mansonella ozzardi | regnum = Animalia | phylum = Nematoda | classis = Secernentea | ordo = Spirurida | familia = Onchocercidae | genus = Mansonella | species = M. ozzardi | species_authority = Manson, 1897 }}Mansonella ozzardi'' is a filarial (arthropod-borne) nematode (roundworm). This filarial nematode is one of two that causes serous cavity filariasis in humans. The other filarial nematode that causes it in humans is Mansonella perstans. M. ozzardi is an endoparasite that inhabits the serous cavity of the abdomen in the human host. It lives within the mesenteries, peritoneum, and in the subcutaneous tissue. Morphology Like other nematodes, M. ozzardi is a cylindrical and bilaterally symmetrical worm, with a pseudocoel, or a false body cavity. The exterior of the parasite, the cuticle, is a protective layer that can withstand the harsh environment in the digestive tracts of the human hosts. M. ozzardi and other nematodes have longitudinal muscles that run along the body wall. They also have dorsal, ventral, and longitudinal nerve cords connected to these longitudinal muscles. In the adult stages of M. ozzardi, the females are larger than the males. M. ozzardi is usually smaller than those Onchocerca Volvulus (that causes human onchocerciasis) when both species co-exist; especially in some rural areas in Brazil, within the Amazonian onchocerciasis focus. Reproduction This is a dioecious species; the female is believed to release a pheromone to attract males. When the male finds the female, he will coil around the female over the genital pore. The male's spicules are used to hold the female during copulation. The females are ovoviviparous. The sperm of a nematode lacks a flagellum. Its motility is due to its amoeboid-type cell. Geographic range This is a New World parasite. It is prominent in the subtropical, tropical, and temperate regions of Central and South America (Mexico, Panama, Brazil, Colombia, and Argentina), and the Caribbean. The prevalence of M. ozzardi in Brazil is very high; about 44-52% of Brazilian farmers are infected. It is also prevalent with the American Indian population. Many transmission hotspots in the Amazon Basin map to indigenous communities. Endemicity levels vary widely among rural villages, situated a few kilometers apart along the same rivers in the western Amazon Basin of Brazil Lifecycle An arthropod (black fly or biting midge) will take a blood meal from a human and will insert its third-stage filarial larvae into the