

These acute attacks are debilitating, may last for weeks and are the primary cause of lost wages among people suffering with lymphatic filariasis.
DELIVER SYNONYM SKIN
Most are the result of secondaryīacterial skin infection where normal defenses have been partially lost due to underlying lymphatic damage. Some of these episodes are caused by the body's immune response to the parasite. The socioeconomic burdens of isolation and poverty are immense.Īcute episodes of local inflammation involving skin, lymph nodes and lymphatic vessels often accompany chronic lymphoedema or elephantiasis. Often lead to social stigma and sub-optimal mental health, loss of income-earning opportunities and increased medical expenses for patients and their caretakers. Involvement of breasts and genital organs is common. When lymphatic filariasis develops into chronic conditions it leads to lymphoedema (tissue swelling) or elephantiasis (skin/tissue thickening) of limbs and hydrocele (scrotal swelling). Still cause damage to the lymphatic system and the kidneys and alter the body's immune system. The majority of infections are asymptomatic, showing no external signs of infection while contributing to transmission of the parasite. Lymphatic filariasis infection involves asymptomatic, acute, and chronic conditions. Lymphatic filariasis is transmitted by different types of mosquitoes for example by the Culex mosquito, widespread across urban and semi-urban areas, Anopheles, mainly found in rural areas, and Aedes, mainly in endemic islands The larvae then migrate to the lymphatic vessels where they develop into adult worms, thus continuing a cycle of transmission. When infected mosquitoes bite people, mature parasite larvae are deposited on the skin from where Microfilariae mature into infective larvae within the mosquito. Mosquitoes are infected with microfilariae by ingesting blood when biting an infected host. The worms can live for approximately 6–8 years and, during their lifetime, produce millions of microfilariae (immature larvae) that circulate in the Brugia timori, which also causes the disease.Īdult worms nest in the lymphatic vessels and disrupt the normal function of the lymphatic system.Brugia malayi, which causes most of the remainder of the cases.Wuchereria bancrofti, which is responsible for 90% of the cases.There are 3 types of these thread-like filarial worms: Lymphatic filariasis is caused by infection with parasites classified as nematodes (roundworms) of the family Filariodidea. Eliminating lymphaticįilariasis can prevent unnecessary suffering and contribute to the reduction of poverty. At least 36 million people remain with these chronic disease manifestations. The global baseline estimate of people affected by lymphatic filariasis was 25 million men with hydrocele and over 15 million people with lymphoedema. In 2020, 863 million people in 50 countries were living in areas that require preventive chemotherapy to stop the spread of infection. Social and financial losses contributing to stigma and poverty. These patients are not only physically disabled, but suffer mental, The painful and profoundly disfiguring visible manifestations of the disease, lymphoedema, elephantiasis and scrotal swelling occur later in life and can lead to permanent disability. Infection is usually acquired in childhood causing hidden damage to the lymphatic

Infection occurs when filarial parasites are transmitted to humans through mosquitoes. Lymphatic filariasis, commonly known as elephantiasis, is a neglected tropical disease.
