Filariasis - Wuchereria bancrofti

30 yo F from India presents w/ painless immobile firm mass on the arm for 5 months. +axillary lymphadenopathy. Denies any trauma or travel. Aspiration of fluid done. Diagnosis?

Filariasis caused by nematode worms Wuchereria bancrofti, Brugia malayi & B timori transmitted by mosquitoes. Humans are definitive host while mosquito intermediate host. endemic tropical regions especially India, China, Indonesia, and parts of Africa

Patients in the endemic areas can be asymptomatic for many years. The acute phase is usually associated with microfilaremia and eosinophilia. Microfilaremia is usually detected in blood or skin specimens, but its absence does not rule of the presence of filariasis.

Treatment should be multifactorial involving various steps such as vector control in the endemic areas, prompt accurate diagnosis and mass drug administration https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/lymphaticfilariasis/treatment.html

Three-drug regimen of ivermectin plus diethylcarbamazine plus albendazole  induced clearance of microfilariae from the blood for 3 years in almost all participants https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1706854



Indiana University Infectious Diseases Fellowship @IUIDfellowship



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