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Lymphatic Filariasis and Children

Source: www.gsk.com
Topic: Filariasis
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Sort Desciption: The Global Alliance to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis. Lymphatic filariasis (LF) is one of the worlds most debilitating and disfiguring tropical diseases. ...

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Lymphatic Filariasis and Children The Global Alliance to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis Lymphatic filariasis (LF) is one of the worlds most debilitating and disfiguring tropical diseases. It is a parasitic condition caused by thread-like worms that lodge in the human lymphatic system, releasing millions of microfilariae (immature worms) into the blood. These microfilariae are then picked up by mosquitoes and transmitted to other humans 1 . The Global Programme to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis aims to break the cycle of transmission between mosquitoes and humans, thereby eliminating LF as a public health problem and protecting future generations from the disease. How lymphatic filariasis affects children In order to contract LF, a child must live in an endemic area and be exposed to mosquitoes for at least a few months. The severity of LF depends on the level of exposure to infected mosquitoes: the more infected bites, the greater the likelihood of serious disease. The damage caused by adult worms in the lymphatic system develops slowly, and it is generally not apparent until children are four or five years of age. In addition, most young children, even when infected, do not have microfilariae detectable in circulating blood. Therefore, in children, the infection is usually symptomless and clinically silent, although swollen lymph glands may be observed as early as two years of age. At about seven years, about 30% of infected children will start to show ultrasounddetectable, irregular ballooning of the tiny walled lymphatic ducts and some will have noticeably swollen lymph glands. Disease progression in girls By about 13 years, girls may start to show clinically visible signs of infection of the lymph vessels in the leg. Further cumulative damage to the lymphatic drainage system predisposes them to lymphoedema (an abnormal accumulation of lymph fluid in the tissues causing swelling of a limb). This may progress to ...

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