Name
The scientific name of this nematode was given in honor to the scientists Otto Wucherer (1820–1873) and Joseph Bancroft (1836–1884). The trivial names of W. bancrofti are filarial worm and lymph filaria.
Geographic Distribution/Epidemiology
W. bancrofti inhabit humid-warm regions in Africa, Asia, and South America. It is estimated that about 100 million humans are infected, although apparently only 1 % of the infections lead to adult worms.
Morphology/Life Cycle
The adult worms of this species reach as females a size of 10 cm × 0.3 mm, while males remain considerably smaller (4 cm × 0.1 mm). Several worms live together in the lymphatic vessels and lymph nodes of humans and monkeys and form knots, which block the flowing of the lymph. It takes 1–2 years until the worms reach maturity. After repeated copulations the females produce for 6–7 years sheathed microfilariae (Figs. 1 and 2). Even after they stopped microfilariae, the adults may stay there for up to 20 years. The...
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Further Reading
Budge PJ et al (2014) Ongoing surveillance for lymphatic filariasis in Togo. Am J Trop Med Hyg 90:89–95
Coulibaly YI et al (2013) Wuchereria bancrofti transmission in Southern Mali prior to and following mass drug administration. Parasites Vectors 6:247–254
Hörauf A et al (2011) Filariasis in Africa. Treatment challenges and prospects. Clin Microbiol Infect 17:977–985
Samad MS et al (2013) Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the diagnosis of Wuchereria bancrofti infection. Parasitol Int 62:564–567
Scott AL et al (2012) Filarial and Wolbachia genomics. Parasite Immunol 34:121–129
Simonsen PE, Mwakitalu ME (2013) Urban lymphatic filariasis. Parasitol Res 112:35–44
Weill GJ et al (2013) Laboratory and field evaluation of a new rapid test for detecting Wuchereria bancrofti antigen in human blood. Am J Trop Med Hyg 89:11–15
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Mehlhorn, H. (2015). Wuchereria bancrofti . In: Mehlhorn, H. (eds) Encyclopedia of Parasitology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27769-6_3433-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27769-6_3433-2
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Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27769-6
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