OBJECTIVE To determine the relationship between human lymphatic filariasis, caused by Wuchereria bancrofti, and falciparum malaria, which are co-endemic throughout West Africa. METHODS We used geographical information systems and spatial statistics to examine the prevalence of lymphatic filariasis in relation to malaria prevalence, mosquito species distributions, vegetation and climate. RES...

The possible role of microfilarial surface (cuticular) antigens in immuno-diagnosis of human filarial infections has been assessed using microfilariae (mf) of the cattle parasite Onchocerca gibsoni. A Triton X-100 extract of 125I-labeled O. gibsoni mf was reacted with a panel of sera from humans infected with Onchocerca volvulus, Wuchereria bancrofti and Schistosoma japonicum as well as sera fr...

The present study was undertaken in order to study whether Culex quinquefasciatus collected in Phitsanulok Province can be an insect host for the development of Wuchereria bancrofti larvae. W. bancrofti infected blood from Myanmar workers in Mae Sot, Tak Province was fed to mosquitoes by using the artificial membrane feeding. An infection of W. bancrofti was found with the highest density of L3...

The risk of filarial lymphedema may not be equivalent for all members of filaria-exposed populations. While evidence for a genetic factor that influences acquisition of infection has been growing, very little work has addressed whether there is a genetic basis to the development of disease due to lymphatic filariasis. We designed a family study of lymphedema in a rural community in Haiti to ass...

Abstract. The value of a semi-quantitative scoring of the filarial antigen test (Binax Now Filariasis card test, ICT) results was evaluated during a field survey in the Republic of Congo. One hundred and thirty-four (134) of 774 tests (17.3%) were clearly positive and were scored 1, 2, or 3; and 11 (1.4%) had questionable results. Wuchereria bancrofti microfilariae (mf) were detected in 41 of t...

GST (glutathione S-transferases) are a family of detoxification enzymes that catalyze the conjugation of reduced GSH (glutathione) to xenobiotic (endogenous electrophilic) compounds. GST from Wb (Wuchereria bancrofti) and Bm (Brugia malayi) are significantly different from human GST in sequence and structure. Thus, Wb-GST and Bm-GST are potential chemotherapeutic targets for anti-filarial treat...

Filariasis is a disabling parasitic disease and the prevalence of lymphatic filariasis caused by Wuchereria bancrofti is quite high in India. However, W. bancrofti presenting as a subcutaneous swelling and a demonstration of microfilariae in cytological smears from upper extremity lesions is extremely rare. We report a case of 20-year-old male who presented with a small subcutaneous swelling ne...

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES Onchocerciasis is endemic in some parts of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. This study describes the entomological parameters of transmission in three rural communities of Akwa Ibom State, prior to ivermectin intervention in 2004. METHODS Blackflies were caught using human bait and 90% of the flies were dissected for parity. All parous flies were further dissected for the pre...

BACKGROUND Antibody (Ab) to the Wuchereria bancrofti (Wb) infective larval (L3) antigen Wb123, using a Luciferase Immunoprecipitation System (LIPS) assay, has been shown to be a species-specific, early marker of infection developed for potential use as a surveillance tool following transmission interruption post mass drug administration. To examine its usefulness in a single filarial-endemic is...

Tea industry is a labor intensive agro-industry and filariasis is mostly localized among the tea garden workers in Assam. The workers live inside the gardens in colonies. Studies conducted in two cosecutive years revealed that among the host seeking Culex quinquefasciatus average infection rate was 4.6% and with 2.1 larvae per mosquito. The overall prevalence of infective mosquitos was 0.8% wit...