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)This introductory chapter will describe the salient biologic and epidemiological features of human lymphatic-dwelling filariae that have enabled them to be highly successful in maintaining the complex ecologic niche that involves interaction between the definitive vertebrate host and the obligatory mosquito vector. Issues of particular relevance to control strategies and future directions for research will be highlighted. More detailed discussion of protective immunity, the immunology and pathogenesis of disease, prospects for eradication, and filarial biology are presented in other chapters.KeywordsFilariasisWuchereriaBrugia
Published Version
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