Wuchereria bancrofti
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Epidemiology
- widely distributed in tropical & subtropical regions of Asia, Africa, South America, Pacific islands & Caribbean. Vectors:
- Culex mosquitoes
- Anopheles mosquitoes
- Aedes mosquitoes Humans are the only definitive host. Two forms distinguished by periodicity of microfilaremia
- nocturnal form
- much more common
- widely distributed
- microfilaremia at night
- subperiodic form
- transmitted in Pacific islands
- microfilaremia at all times with maximum in afternoon
Pathology
- causative agent of filariasis
- adult forms found in lymphatics
- microfilaria found in blood
Laboratory
- light microscopy: organisms have sheaths
- Wuchereria bancrofti antigen
- Wuchereria bancrofti antibody in serum[3]