Filaria-Monsoon Danger
About Filaria
Monsoon has begun. With the arrival of the monsoon the chances of spreading bacterial and viral diseases have also increased and at the same time mosquitoes also increase in this season which acts as vectors for this. Lymphatic filariasis, a debilitating disease, is one of the most prevalent and yet one of the most neglected tropical diseases with serious economic and social consequences. It is a mosquito-borne disease caused by tissue-dwelling nematodes of Brugia malayi and Wuchereria bancrofti species.
In India, 99.4% of the cases are caused by the species Wuchereria bancrofti with the other species Brugia malayi responsible for just 0.6%. The worms produce about 50,000 microfilariae (minute larvae) that enter a person’s bloodstream & get transferred when a mosquito bites an infected person. The infection leads to lymphedema, a buildup of fluid due to impaired function of the lymph vessels, in only a small proportion of people, even in areas of intense transmission, as most people with long-term infections are clinically asymptomatic.
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