Filariasis In Communities Research Articles

Lymphatic Filariasis in Communities of Ardo-Kola Local Government Area, Taraba State, Nigeria

Lymphatic filariasis is one of the most important parasitic and neglected diseases in the tropics, that inflicts and underdevelopment especially in sub Saharan Africa. This study was carried out to determine the status of lymphatic filariasis in six rural communities of Ardo-Kola Local Government Area where no epidemiological data exist. Rapid Assessment Method for clinical signs and Standard Parasitological Techniques were used for diagnosis. A total of 464 night blood samples were collected using finger-prick method. Out of the number, 136 (29.31%) were infected with Wuchereria bancrofti. Infection rates among the six communities differed significantly (ANOVA, P<0.05). Chi-square analysis (chi-square, P>0.05) revealed the following: No significant difference in infection between the sexes; significant differences in infection among the different age groups and occupational groups. Pearson correlation analysis showed close association between the presence of W. bancrofti and Itching (r=0.76, P<0.05), ADL (r=0.80, P<0.05), Hydrocoel (r=0.93), Dermititis (r=0.87) and Hernia (r=0.87). However, a weak relationship was observed between the presence of microfilaraemia and elephantiasis of limb (r=0.44, P>0.05) and lymphoedermia of breast (r=0.30, P>0.05). A mean microfilarial density of 2.31mf/60µl was obtained. This finding revealed a very high prevalence of bancroftian filariasis and demands urgent attention on the control of the infection.

Entomological survey and infection rates of <i>Plasmodium falciparum</i> and <i>Wuchereria bancrofti</i> in mosquito populations in the Kainji Lake Area, Nigeria

An entomological study was conducted on vectors of malaria and bancroftian filariasis in Kainji Lake Area of Niger State, Nigeria. A total of 1,545 mosquitoes were collected in this study, and of this, anopheline mosquito represented 72.6% of the total collected while culicine mosquito comprised only 27.4%. Anopheles gambiae complex constituted 60% of the mosquitoes collected. A further identification with PCR showed that An. arabiensis and An. gambiae s.s were 34.5% and 28.5 % (of the mosquitoes collected) respectively. Plasmodium falciparum sporozoites rate of 6.7% for An. arabiensis and 4.6% for An. gambiae s.s were obtained by ELISA. None of the 1,122 anopheline tested was positive for Plasmodium malariae. Dissection of Anopheles, Culex and Aedes species revealed infective larvae of Wuchereria bancrofti only in Anopheles gambiae s.s. with an overall infection rate of 0.5%. These results indicate that the current malaria vector control using pyrethroid treated nets also stand a chance of controlling the vector of bancroftian filariasis in communities where both diseases co-exist. Keywords: mosquito, vector, malaria, filariasis, Kanji, Nigeria. Nigerian Journal of Parasitology Vol. 27 2006: pp.58-61

Rapid community diagnosis of lymphatic filariasis

We conducted a pilot study to test rapid assessment procedures for the community diagnosis of lymphatic filariasis in some rural communities in Ghana. The assessment criteria included direct key informant interviews, focus group discussions, routine reporting from health facilities, self-administered questionnaires, and a random examination of adult males for hydroceles. All the data collection methods were easy, convenient, non-invasive to use and acceptable to the community. The study provided reliable estimates of the burden of lymphatic filariasis in the community when compared with data from standard epidemiological surveys. The direct key informant interviews and focus group discussions gave a broad perspective of the burden of diseases in the community in general, and lymphatic filariasis in particular. The use of self-administered questionnaires provided data comparable with data on elephantiasis in the community from a case search. Examination of a random 30–40 adult males for hydroceles provided a good correlation with the community microfilaria prevalence, with a correlation coefficient of linear regression r=0.79. These individual rapid assessment procedures of the burden of lymphatic filariasis, if further developed and tested could, be widely used in combination for the mapping of the distribution of lymphatic filariasis in Ghana and possibly, the African sub-region.