Lymphatic filariasis
What are the symptoms of filarial worms?
Symptoms of Filarial Worm Infections
When lymphatic tissues (cells and organs that make up the lymphatic system) are involved, adult Wuchereria or Brugia worms and the inflammation that accompanies them can block lymph vessels,
causing areas of the legs, arms, or genitals to become inflamed and swell
.
How does filariasis affect your body?
These asymptomatic infections still cause damage to the lymphatic system and the kidneys and alter the body’s immune system. When lymphatic filariasis develops into chronic conditions it leads to
lymphoedema (tissue swelling)
or elephantiasis (skin/tissue thickening) of limbs and hydrocele (scrotal swelling).
What are the causes of filaria?
Most cases of filariasis are caused by the parasite known as
Wuchereria bancrofti
. Culex, Aedes and Anopheles mosquitoes serve as vector for W. bancrofti in transmission of the disease. Another parasite called Brugia malayi also causes filariasis is transmitted by the vector Mansonia and Anopheles mosquitoes.
What is the treatment for filarial?
The main goal of treatment of an infected person is to kill the adult worm.
Diethylcarbamazine citrate (DEC)
, which is both microfilaricidal and active against the adult worm, is the drug of choice for lymphatic filariasis. The late phase of chronic disease is not affected by chemotherapy.
How can I treat filaria at home?
- Wash and dry the swollen areas daily.
- Use moisturizers.
- Check for wounds and use medicated cream on any sore spots.
- Exercise, and walk when possible.
Can filaria be cured?
Untitled Document. Since
there is no known vaccine or cure for
lymphatic filariasis, the most effective method that exists to control the disease is prevention.
Which is the most common site of filariasis disease?
- Filariasis is a parasitic disease caused by an infection with roundworms of the Filarioidea type. …
- These parasites exist in the wild in subtropical parts of southern Asia, Africa, the South Pacific, and parts of South America. …
- Eight known filarial worms have humans as a definitive host.
What foods to avoid if you have filaria?
Light diet consisting of older jowar, wheat, horse gram, green gram, drum stick, bitter gourd, radish, garlic and older red rice is beneficial.
Milk and products, fish, jaggery, sweets and contaminated water
must be avoided.
How does filariasis start?
The disease spreads from person
to person by mosquito bites
. When a mosquito bites a person who has lymphatic filariasis, microscopic worms circulating in the person’s blood enter and infect the mosquito.
How can filaria be prevented?
- At night. Sleep in an air-conditioned room or. Sleep under a mosquito net.
- Between dusk and dawn. Wear long sleeves and trousers and. Use mosquito repellent on exposed skin.
Can elephantiasis cause death?
Without proper treatment, lymphedema can lead to infection,
amputation or even death
. If the cause of your elephantiasis is parasitic, you need to be on medication to eradicate the infection.
Does filariasis cause itching?
The skin becomes very itchy and a red spotty rash
is often present. Scratching often leads to bleeding, ulcers and secondary infections. The lower trunk, pelvis, buttocks, thighs and legs appear to be the most affected. Microfilariae are the main cause of this dermatitis.
What kills Wolbachia?
There is a promising treatment using
doxycycline
that kills the adult worms by killing the Wolbachia bacteria on which the adult worms depend in order to survive. If you are infected, it is possible that your doctor will want to treat you both with ivermectin and with doxycycline.
Which doctor will treat filaria?
To prevent inappropriate treatment, consult an infectious disease specialist in all cases of suspected filariasis outside of endemic nations. Other possible consultations include:
Urologist
.
Ophthalmologist
.
What is the life cycle of filariasis?
There the microfilariae develop into first-stage larvae and subsequently
into third-stage infective larvae
. The third-stage infective larvae migrate through the hemocoel to the mosquito’s prosbocis and can infect another human when the mosquito takes a blood meal .
