Lymphatic filariasis, commonly known as elephantiasis, is a painful and profoundly disfiguring disease. It is caused by infection with parasites classified as nematodes (roundworms) of the family Filariodidea that are transmitted through the bites of infected mosquitos. Mosquito-transmitted larvae are deposited on the skin from where they can enter the body. The larvae then migrate to the lymphatic vessels where they develop into adult worms, thus continuing a cycle of transmission.
In communities where filariasis is transmitted, all ages are affected. While the infection may be acquired during childhood its visible manifestations such as limbs oedema may occur later in life, causing temporary or permanent disability. In endemic countries, lymphatic filariasis has a major social and economic impact.
Lymphatic filariasis affects over 120 million people in 72 countries throughout the tropics and sub-tropics of Asia, Africa, the Western Pacific, and parts of the Caribbean and South America.
Cause and transmission
Lymphatic filariasis is caused by infection with parasites classified as nematodes (roundworms) of the family Filariodidea. There are 3 types of these thread-like filarial worms:
- Wuchereria bancrofti, which is responsible for 90% of the cases
- Brugia malayi, which causes most of the remainder of the cases
- Brugia timori, which also causes the disease.
Adult worms nest in the lymphatic vessels and disrupt the normal function of the lymphatic system. The worms can live for approximately 6–8 years and, during their lifetime, produce millions of microfilariae (immature larvae) that circulate in the blood.
Mosquitoes are infected with microfilariae by ingesting blood when biting an infected host. Microfilariae mature into infective larvae within the mosquito. When infected mosquitoes bite people, mature parasite larvae are deposited on the skin from where they can enter the body. The larvae then migrate to the lymphatic vessels where they develop into adult worms, thus continuing a cycle of transmission.
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 in the Pacific.
Symptoms
Lymphatic filariasis infection involves asymptomatic, acute, and chronic conditions. The majority of infections are asymptomatic, showing no external signs of infection while contributing to transmission of the parasite. 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). Involvement of breasts and genital organs is common. Such body deformities often lead to social stigma and sub-optimal mental health, loss of income-earning opportunities and increased medical expenses for patients and their caretakers. The socioeconomic burdens of isolation and poverty are immense.
Acute episodes of local inflammation involving skin, lymph nodes and lymphatic vessels often accompany chronic lymphoedema or elephantiasis. Some of these episodes are caused by the body’s immune response to the parasite. Most are the result of secondary bacterial skin infection where normal defenses have been partially lost due to underlying lymphatic damage. These acute attacks are debilitating, may last for weeks and are the primary cause of lost wages among people suffering with lymphatic filariasis.
Key facts
- Lymphatic filariasis impairs the lymphatic system and can lead to the abnormal enlargement of body parts, causing pain, severe disability and social stigma.
- 863 million people in 47 countries worldwide remain threatened by lymphatic filariasis and require preventive chemotherapy to stop the spread of this parasitic infection.
- Lymphatic filariasis can be eliminated by stopping the spread of infection through preventive chemotherapy with safe medicine combinations repeated annually. More than 8.6 billion cumulative treatments have been delivered to stop the spread of infection since 2000.
- 51 million people were infected as of 2018, a 74% decline since the start of WHO’s Global Programme to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis in 2000.
- 692 million people no longer require preventive chemotherapy due to successful implementation of WHO strategies.
- An essential, recommended package of care can alleviate suffering and prevent further disability among people living with disease caused by lymphatic filariasis.
Authour; WHO