Jack Prior, Ryan M. Murphy, and
Aliya Robbins
What is Lymphatic Filariasis?

Parasitic disease where
worms enter the blood
stream through numerous
mosquito bites over a
number of years.
 Affects 120 million
individuals in over 80
countries in the tropical
regions due to stagnant
water and poor irrigation
systems
Infected Regions
History

Pre-1876


600BC


Men affected by elephantiasis were not allowed to become Buddhist
priests.
10th- 13th Centuries


Ancient Hindu medical workers referred to elephantiasis in Sanskrit
texts.
600- 250BC


The only known symptom of this disease was elephantiasis because of
its outward appearance.
Persian and European physicians have accurate descriptions of
elephantiasis.
1876

Joseph Bancroft discovered the parasite that causes lymphatic filariasis
in an abscess on the arm of a butcher.
Parasites

White, slender roundworms
 Three types: Wuchereria
bancrofti, Brugia malayi,
Brugia timori
 Live for 5-7 years, produce
millions of offspring
 Block the lymphatic system


Network of channels and
lymph nodes that help
maintain fluid levels in the
body
Blockage leads to edema
(collection of fluid in tissues)
Process of Infection
Symptoms

Fever
 Kidney damage
 Skin abnormalities due to
bacterial infection.
 Elephantiasis



Swelling of limbs and genitalia
Male: Enlargement of scrotum,
penis retracted under skin,
spermatic cords thickened
Female: Long tumorous mass
covered by thickened
ulcerated skin develops on the
vulva
Social Impact of Disease
 Sexual
Disability
 Communities frequently
shun those disfigured.
 Inability to work
 Women with visible signs
may never marry or
spouses and families will
reject them.
Personal Account
June/July 1996: 29-participant study done by
Jennine Coreil in Haiti
 Lack of Mobility:


“I had a child to be baptized and I had to send
someone to stand in my place as father”
Embarrassment:


“When I went to school I felt very embarrassed. I
didn’t have the desire to go back.”
“The hardest part for me is having to get help from
someone to pee”
Personal Accounts

Lack of Knowledge:



Lack of Trust in Doctors:


“When I was little I was playing in the street and a
truck’s tire ran over my feet.”
“I thought the injury made my foot ‘cold’ and that is
what made my foot become big.”
“When you go to the hungan’s house, your foot gets
even bigger.”
Severity:

“I ask for death because it makes me very sick. I have
been suffering with this for 35 years.”
Diagnosis

Until recently, very difficult
to diagnose


Nocturnal periodicity: The
worms can only be detected
in the blood of those infected
around the hour of midnight.
New specific card test:
Detects parasites using
only finger prick blood tests
any time of day.
 Ultrasound can identify
rapidly moving adult worms.
Treatment and Management of
Elephantiasis

Prevention

Mosquito nets, insect repellents

Voodoo healing techniques
 Elevate and exercise affected body part
 Skin treatment



Wash area twice daily
Antibacterial cream
CDP (Complex decongestive
physiotherapy)

Lymph drainage, massage, compressive
bandages
Management and Treatment of
Lymphatic Filariasis

Currently Used:


Antifilarial drugs (DEC and ivermectin) are
useful against larval offspring
Testing:

Doxycycline
• Tested on a Tanzanian village.
• Found to almost completely eliminate adult
worms 14 months after treatment.
• Sustained loss of larval offspring for 8-14
months after treatment.

Albendazole and DEC
• Given together once a year
• Found to be 99% effective in removing
microfilariae from blood for full year after
treatment
World Epidemic

Continuing to grow throughout the global
community.
 Global Alliance to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis


Strategy: stop spread of infection, alleviate suffering
of infected individuals by using albendazole and DEC
Other plans: Papua, New Guinea: utilization of
church eldership
Work Cited

http://www.who.int

www. Wikipedia.com

http://www.filariasis.org

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dpd/parasites/lymphaticfilariasis/default.htm
http://elephantiasis.freeyellow.com/
http://www.healthatoz.com/healthatoz/Atoz/ency/elephantiasis.jsphttp://
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=26197
http://www.jcu.edu.au/school/sphtm/documents/lfreview/lfreview.pdf
http://elephantiasis.freeyellow.com/pictures.html
http://www.emedicine.com/med/images/2251elephantiasis3.jpg
http://www.liv.ac.uk/images/newsroom/press_releases/2005/06/elephantias
http://www.biosci.ohio-state.edu/~parasite/wuchereria.html
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http://www.scienceblog.com/cms/node/8267
Seppa, Nathan Attack on Elephantiasis, Science News; 6/25/2005, Vol.
167 Issue 26, p404-405, 2p