Filarial Chyluria in Japan

Abstract

The clinical manifestations of bancroftian filariasis may be roughly classified into three stages: subclinical, acute, and chronic. Filaria bancrofti has a special predilection for the lymphatic system. After a long period of so-called “incubation,” the symptoms of the acute stage appear, e.g., repeated fever attacks, called “Kusafurui,” often associated with lymphangioadenitis. The chronic complications, occurring from five to twenty years after the primary infestation, are represented by various conditions, such as elephantiasis of the leg, hydrocele testis, chyluria, or permanent swelling of the lymph nodes. A survey of filariasis among 7,766 people in Okinawa by Saigo (1) showed an incidence of 14.24 per cent for microfilaremia, 1.07 per cent for chyluria, and 1.94 per cent for elephantiasis. Sassa (2) found a microfilaremia incidence of 10.76 per cent in 22,698 people in the Amami-Oshima and Okierabu Islands. These islands are far south of Japan and just north of Okinawa. Since lymphographic demonstr...