18th October 2023 (9 Topics)
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Lao PDR becomes second country in 2023 to eliminate ‘lymphatic filariasis’
Context:
As per the information by World Health Organization (WHO), the Lao People’s Democratic Republic has eliminated lymphatic filariasis (LF).
- This year, Lao is the second country after Bangladesh for such an announcement.
About the Disease:
- It is commonly known as elephantiasis and is a neglected tropical disease.
- Infection occurs when filarial parasites are transmitted to humans through mosquitoes.
- Infection is usually acquired in childhood causing hidden damage to the lymphatic system.
- The painful and profoundly disfiguring visible manifestations of the disease, lymphoedema, elephantiasis and scrotal swelling occur later in life and can lead to permanent disability.
- These patients are not only physically disabled, but suffer mental, social and financial losses contributing to stigma and poverty.
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Currently, 856 million people in 52 countries are living in areas that require preventive chemotherapy. |
Causes and transmission:
- Lymphatic filariasis is caused by infection with parasites classified as nematodes (roundworms) of the family Filariodidea.
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There are 3 types of these thread-like filarial worms:
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- Adult worms lodge in the lymphatic vessels and disrupt the normal function of the lymphatic system.
- The worms can live for approximately 6–8 years and, during their life time, produce millions of microfilariae (immature larvae) that circulate in the blood.
- Mosquitoes are infected with microfilariae by ingesting blood when biting an infected host. Microfilariae mature into infective larvae within the mosquito.
- When infected mosquitoes bite people, mature parasite larvae are deposited on the skin from where they can enter the body.
- The larvae then migrate to the lymphatic vessels where they develop into adult worms, thus continuing a cycle of transmission.
- It is transmitted by different types of mosquitoes for example by the Culex mosquito, widespread across urban and semi-urban areas, Anopheles, mainly found in rural areas, and Aedes, mainly in endemic islands in the Pacific.
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WHO response:
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