Elimination of lymphatic filariasis
Source: www.ias.ac.in
Topic: Filariasis
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Sort Desciption: Lymphatic filariasis is a vector-borne parasitic disease caused by the filarial parasites, Wuchereia bancrofti, Brugia malayi and Brugia timori. Globally, more than 1000 million people live in endemic areas and are at risk of being infected with the parasite. ...
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Lymphatic filariasis is a vector-borne parasitic disease caused by the filarial parasites, Wuchereia bancrofti, Brugia malayi and Brugia timori. Globally, more than 1000 million people live in endemic areas and are at risk of being infected with the parasite. In India, there are approximately 21 million people with symptomatic filariasis and 27 million microfilariae carriers. The common manifestations of the disease are episodic attacks of lymphangitis, filarial fever, hydrocele (males) and elephantiasis or lymphodema, etc. In an endemic area, infection is introduced by mosquito bite, which lodges the infective larvae to the human host during its blood meal. The infective larvae develop into adult worms, live in lipid-rich environments of lymphatics/ lymphnodes, mate and produce microfilariae over several years. Individuals having microfilariae mostly remain asymptomatic for years, with milder attacks of lymphangitis and hydrocele (in males only). These individuals or microfilariae carriers help in maintaining the transmission cycle going by providing microfilariae to mosquitoes, in which they develop to infective larvae. Majority of the people at risk of filariasis live in rural areas. Poor sanitary conditions associated with low socio-economic status of the community make the environment a proliferate breeding place for vector mosquitoes, which facilitate transmission. Based on certain developments in filariasis research, in 1997 the World Health Assembly took a resolution calling for the elimination of lymphatic filariasis as a public health problem. This resolution leads to the initiation of a global programme to eliminate lymphatic filariasis (GPELF). The GPELF recommends for mass drug administration of single dose of diethyl carbamazine (DEC) yearly to those living in endemic areas. Though this drug has limited effect ...
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