Parasitic disease caused by a family of nematode worms
Medical condition
Filariasis
Life cycle of Wuchereria bancrofti, a parasite that causes filariasis
Specialty
Infectious disease
Filariasis is a parasitic disease caused by an infection with roundworms of the Filarioidea type.[1] These are spread by blood-feeding insects such as black flies and mosquitoes. They belong to the group of diseases called helminthiases.
These parasites exist in the wild in subtropical parts of southern Asia, Africa, the South Pacific, and parts of South America. One does not acquire them in temperate areas like Europe or the United States.[2]
Eight known filarial worms have humans as a definitive host. These are divided into three groups according to the part of the body they affect:
Lymphatic filariasis is caused by the worms Wuchereria bancrofti, Brugia malayi, and Brugia timori. These worms occupy the lymphatic system, including the lymph nodes; in chronic cases, these worms lead to the syndrome of elephantiasis.
Subcutaneous filariasis is caused by Loa loa (the eye worm), Mansonella streptocerca, and Onchocerca volvulus. These worms occupy the layer just under the skin. L. loa causes Loa loa filariasis, while O. volvulus causes river blindness.
Serous cavity filariasis is caused by the worms Mansonella perstans and Mansonella ozzardi, which occupy the serous cavity of the abdomen. Dirofilaria immitis, the dog heartworm, rarely infects humans.
The adult worms, which usually stay in one tissue, release early larval forms known as microfilariae into the person's blood. These circulating microfilariae can be taken up during a blood meal by an insect vector; in the vector, they develop into infective larvae that can be spread to another person.
Individuals infected by filarial worms may be described as either "microfilaraemic" or "amicrofilaraemic", depending on whether microfilariae can be found in their peripheral blood. Filariasis is diagnosed in microfilaraemic cases primarily through direct observation of microfilariae in the peripheral blood. Occult filariasis is diagnosed in amicrofilaraemic cases based on clinical observations and, in some cases, by finding a circulating antigen in the blood.
^Center for Disease Control and Prevention. "Lymphatic Filariasis". Retrieved 18 July 2010.
^Prevention, CDC-Centers for Disease Control and (17 September 2020). "CDC - Lymphatic Filariasis - General Information - Frequently Asked Questions". www.cdc.gov.
under the skin. L. loa causes Loa loa filariasis, while O. volvulus causes river blindness. Serous cavity filariasis is caused by the worms Mansonella perstans...
by lymphatic filariasis often experience adverse immunological reactions to the microfilariae as well as the adult worms.: 665 Filariasis may also be...
lymphangitis[citation needed] Elephantiasis tropica (known as lymphatic filariasis), caused by a number of parasitic worms, particularly Wuchereria bancrofti...
regimens, and lymphatic filariasis is the target of the World Health Organization Global Program to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis with the aim to eradicate...
include onchocerciasis, lymphatic filariasis, plague, Buruli ulcer, leishmaniasis, and Chagas disease. Lymphatic filariasis, for example, causes severe deformities...
Loa loa filariasis is a skin and eye disease caused by the nematode worm Loa loa. Humans contract this disease through the bite of a deer fly or mango...
also reduces the transmission of lymphatic filariasis. In the Americas, 95% of the burden of lymphatic filariasis is on the island of Hispaniola (comprising...
Lymphatic filariasis in India refers to the presence of the disease lymphatic filariasis in India and the social response to the disease. In India, 99%...
eradication of lymphatic filariasis is the ongoing attempt to eradicate the Filarioidea worms which cause the disease lymphatic filariasis and also treat the...
perstans filariasis]". Parassitologia. 49 (1–2): 23–6. PMID 18416002. Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mansonella perstans. "Filariasis". DPDx -...
(onchocerciasis), strongyloidiasis, trichuriasis, ascariasis and lymphatic filariasis. It works through many mechanisms to kill the targeted parasites, and...
Filarioidea (Filariasis) Onchocerca volvulus Onchocerciasis Loa loa Loa loa filariasis Mansonella Mansonelliasis Dirofilaria repens D. immitis Dirofilariasis...
(roundworm), one of the three causative agents of lymphatic filariasis in humans. Lymphatic filariasis, also known as elephantiasis, is a condition characterized...
a filarial (arthropod-borne) nematode (roundworm) that causes Loa loa filariasis. Loa loa actually means "worm worm", but is commonly known as the "eye...
Diethylcarbamazine is a medication used in the treatment of filariasis including lymphatic filariasis, tropical pulmonary eosinophilia, and loiasis. It may...
Filarioidea (Filariasis) Onchocerca volvulus Onchocerciasis Loa loa Loa loa filariasis Mansonella Mansonelliasis Dirofilaria repens D. immitis Dirofilariasis...
Lymphatic Filariasis (GPELF) is a World Health Organization project to eradicate the Filarioidea worms which cause the disease lymphatic filariasis and also...
Filarioidea (Filariasis) Onchocerca volvulus Onchocerciasis Loa loa Loa loa filariasis Mansonella Mansonelliasis Dirofilaria repens D. immitis Dirofilariasis...
parasitic filarial worms cause disease conditions generically known as filariasis. Drugs against these worms are known as filaricides. Filarioidea all are...
Nile virus, Japanese encephalitis, or St. Louis encephalitis, but also filariasis and avian malaria. They occur worldwide except for the extreme northern...
Filarioidea (Filariasis) Onchocerca volvulus Onchocerciasis Loa loa Loa loa filariasis Mansonella Mansonelliasis Dirofilaria repens D. immitis Dirofilariasis...
Filarioidea (Filariasis) Onchocerca volvulus Onchocerciasis Loa loa Loa loa filariasis Mansonella Mansonelliasis Dirofilaria repens D. immitis Dirofilariasis...
(arthropod-borne) nematode (roundworm) which causes the disease "Timor filariasis", or "Timorian filariasis". While this disease was first described in 1965, the identity...
Filarioidea (Filariasis) Onchocerca volvulus Onchocerciasis Loa loa Loa loa filariasis Mansonella Mansonelliasis Dirofilaria repens D. immitis Dirofilariasis...
Filarioidea (Filariasis) Onchocerca volvulus Onchocerciasis Loa loa Loa loa filariasis Mansonella Mansonelliasis Dirofilaria repens D. immitis Dirofilariasis...
Filarioidea (Filariasis) Onchocerca volvulus Onchocerciasis Loa loa Loa loa filariasis Mansonella Mansonelliasis Dirofilaria repens D. immitis Dirofilariasis...
(November 2003). "Doxycycline as a novel strategy against bancroftian filariasis-depletion of Wolbachia endosymbionts from Wuchereria bancrofti and stop...
Filarioidea (Filariasis) Onchocerca volvulus Onchocerciasis Loa loa Loa loa filariasis Mansonella Mansonelliasis Dirofilaria repens D. immitis Dirofilariasis...
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