According to World Health Organisation (WHO), Lymphatic Filariasis also known as Elephantiasis is a disease that appears mostly on legs due to the penetration of filarial parasites in the human body through mosquitoes.
Elephantiasis has cause and transmission, symptoms and effects, prevention as well as the treatment that we are going to discuss in this article from Bazamuganga.com
Three weeks ago, a local website Igicumbi news reported that Elephantiasis cases are on the rise in Gicumbi District.
One of the patient, Joseph Mafaranga, a resident of Nyarutarama Cell, Byumba Sector in Gicumbi District has said ” It is expensive to get treated. I went to hospital and i was told to pay six millions Rwf.”
Byumba Referral Hospital boss, Dr.Uwizeye Marcel says number of the Elephantiasis patients increased in Gicumbi District because the area is near by the volcanoes.
Local administration advised residents to wear shoes as means to fight against the disease.
Cause and transmission of Elephantiasis
Lymphatic Filariasis is a result of infection with parasites classified as nematodes (roundworms) of the family Filariodidea that attack human body. There are three types of these thread-like filarial worms: Wuchereria bancrofti, which is responsible for 90% of the cases, Brugia malayi, which causes most of the remainder of the cases and Brugia timori, which also causes the disease (https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/lymphatic-filariasis)
Symptoms and effects of Elephantiasis
According to Research gate, Elephantiasis Most cases of the disease have no symptoms.
Some people, however, develop a syndrome called elephantiasis, which is marked by severe swelling in the arms, legs, breasts, or genitals. The skin may become thicker as well, and the condition may become painful. The changes to the body may harm the affected person’s social and economic situation (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/345346440_Elephantiasis_Analysis_-_Extended_Report).
WHO says Elephantiasis impairs the lymphatic system and can lead to the abnormal enlargement of body parts, causing pain, severe disability and social stigma.
The health international body says Lymphatic filariasis infection involves asymptomatic, acute, and chronic conditions. The majority of infections are asymptomatic, showing no external signs of infection while contributing to transmission of the parasite.
These asymptomatic infections still cause damage to the lymphatic system and the kidneys and alter the body’s immune system.
Treatment and prevention of Elephantiasis
As per UpTO Date website, the approach to treatment of Elephantiasis requires an understanding of antimicrobial agent mechanisms as well as attention to the possibility of coinfection. The clinical approach is described below, followed by a discussion of data related to individual antimicrobial agents.
The medical website suggests:
-Clinical approach: The treatment of choice for lymphatic Filariasis is diethylcarbamazine (DEC); however, this agent is contraindicated in patients confected with onchocerciasis and must be used with caution in patients with loiasis, since severe adverse events can occur in individuals with high microfilaria loads.
Use of Doxycycline, which targets the intracellular endosymbiont, Wolbachia, is an alternative first-line ant filarial therapy for no pregnant adults and children >8 years of age with lymphatic filariasis.
Doxycycline has activity against adult worms and no effect on lowa. Based on the available data in the literature, we favor the clinical approach discussed in the following sections.
WHO says Lymphatic filariasis can be eliminated by stopping the spread of infection through preventive chemotherapy with safe medicine combinations repeated annually. More than 8.6 billion cumulative treatments have been delivered to stop the spread of infection since 2000 ( https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/lymphatic-filariasis).
According to latest data available from WHO, 863 million people in 47 countries worldwide remain threatened by lymphatic filariasis and require preventive chemotherapy to stop the spread of this parasitic infection.
