Filariasis is a parasitic infection with a type of roundworm. Tiny worms, too small to see with the naked eye, invade your body. Under a microscope, the filarial worms look like threads.
The standard method for diagnosing active infection is the identification of microfilariae in a blood smear by microscopic examination. The microfilariae that cause lymphatic filariasis circulate in the blood at night (called nocturnal periodicity).
This particular species is known by the name filarial worms or filariae and the infection caused by them is called filariasis. General symptoms of filariasis include fever, chills, headache and skin lesions. Further progression of the disease will disfigure the patient with excessive swelling of the limbs.
Clinical Features
The most prominent clinical feature is the development of severe lymphedema of the limbs (“elephantiasis”) and occasionally genitalia (hydrocele) due to dysfunction of lymphatic vessels.
Dermatologic manifestations indicative of a potential cutaneous filarial infection include papules, nodules, excoriations with secondary xerosis, lichenification, skin pigment changes, and/or severe pruritus.
This mostly affects the legs, but can also occur in the arms, breasts, and genitalia. Most people develop these clinical manifestations years after being infected. The swelling and the decreased function of the lymph system make it difficult for the body to fight germs and infections.
Lymphatic filariasis, commonly known as elephantiasis, is a neglected tropical disease. Infection occurs when filarial parasites are transmitted to humans through mosquitoes. Infection is usually acquired in childhood causing hidden damage to the lymphatic system.
Filarial worms are parasitic nematodes that dwell within the lymphatics and the subcutaneous tissues of up to 170 million people worldwide. Among the eight filarial infections of humans, those that cause loiasis, onchocerciasis, and lymphatic filariasis are important causes of morbidity.
Most patients infected with M perstans do not experience any symptoms. Newcomers to an endemic area who become infected appear to experience more symptoms than local inhabitants. Symptoms include swelling of the arms, shoulders, and face; abdominal pain; itchiness; fatigue; and joint pain.
ACUTE Signs & Symptoms
Flare-ups can last 4-7 days and occur up to 4 times per year depending on the severity of the lymphedema. Filarial fever: Often an acute fever that occurs independently of any other signs of lymphadenopathy.
Diethylcarbamazine (DEC) is the drug of choice in the United States. The drug kills the microfilariae and some of the adult worms. DEC has been used world-wide for more than 50 years.
Lymphatic filariasis is spread from person to person by mosquitoes. People with the disease can suffer from lymphedema and elephantiasis and in men, swelling of the scrotum, called hydrocele.
The Alere Filariasis Test Strip (FTS) is a rapid diagnostic test recommended for mapping, monitoring and transmission assessment surveys (TAS) for the qualitative detection of Wuchereria bancrofti antigen in human blood samples.
Filariasis is a parasitic infection with a type of roundworm. Tiny worms, too small to see with the naked eye, invade your body. Under a microscope, the filarial worms look like threads.
Structure. Adults are elongate and threadlike. Microfilariae are 250 to 300 μm long, equal in diameter to a red blood cell, and sheathed.
They develop in adults that commonly reside in the lymphatics . The female worms measure 80 to 100 mm in length and 0.24 to 0.30 mm in diameter, while the males measure about 40 mm by . 1 mm.
The chronic manifestations of lymphedema and/or hydrocele will develop in approximately 30% of LF-infected persons. Lymphedema mostly affects the legs, but can also occur in the arms, breasts, and genitalia. Most people develop these symptoms years after infection has cleared.
Although often debilitating, filariasis is rarely fatal. However, secondary bacterial infection of the skin is often characteristic of elephantiasis and may result in death if not treated.
People living for a long time in tropical or sub-tropical areas where the disease is common are at the greatest risk for infection. Short-term tourists have a very low risk. Programs to eliminate lymphatic filariasis are under way in more than 66 countries.
A wide range of mosquitoes can transmit the parasite, depending on the geographic area. In Africa, the most common vector is Anopheles and in the Americas, it is Culex quinquefasciatus. Aedes and Mansonia can transmit the infection in the Pacific and in Asia.
Named for the Greek word for gold (“chrȳsós”), worms in the family Chrysopetalidae really do glitter like the precious metal. Believe it or not, that 24-karat shine is the product of a lustrous mane that we humans could only hope for.
Threadworms, also known as pinworms, are tiny parasitic worms that infect the large intestine of humans. Threadworms are a common type of worm infection in the UK, particularly in children under the age of 10. The worms are white and look like small pieces of thread.
Patients with Morgellons disease may shed unusual particles from the skin described as fibers, “sand” or seed-like black specks, or crystallized particles.
Dracunculosis is characterized by chronic skin ulcers. Tissue under the skin is infiltrated by developing larvae of the parasitic worm known as Dracunculus medinensis, or Guinea worm.
The WHO Filariasis Research Unit in Rangoon estimated that an average of around 15,500 bites by infective mosquitoes is necessary to produce 1 case of microfilaremia [62]. The major vector of nocturnally periodic Wuchereria (Cx.