Subclinical cyathostomiasis and unidentified helminthiasis in a juvenile emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae).

The nematode Cyathostoma variegatum (a lungworm) was present in the distal trachea and proximal bronchi of an 8-mo-old emu that was euthanatized after fracturing the left tibiotarsus. Clinical signs of infection were not present prior to euthanasia and abnormalities were not noted on gross or histologic examination of the respiratory tract. The absence 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 lungworms, large helminth eggs were present in renal and reproductive tissue. Egg morphology was suggestive of species of Deletrocephalus or Paradeletrocephalus. The mechanism by which these eggs became lodged in this ectopic site is unknown.