Lymphatic Filarial Infections: An Introduction to the Filariae

Abstract

Among the large number of nematode parasites for which humans are the definitive host, lymphatic filariae are among those with the greatest medical and public health significance. In contrast to geohelminths such as Ascaris and Trichuris species that primarily affect children, Wuchereria bancrofti, Brugia malayi, and Brugia pahangi have their most obvious clinical impact during adulthood. Accordingly, lymphatic filariasis significantly decreases the socioeconomic status of affected communities. This is reflected in objective measures such as Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALY) (Coreil et al., 1998; Haddix et al., 2000)