Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Correspondence Dr. Christoph F. Dietrich ckbm. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License, which permits unrestricted reproduction and distribution, for non-commercial purposes only; and use and reproduction, but not distribution, of adapted material for non-commercial purposes only, provided the original work is properly cited.
Lymphatic filariasis is an infection transmitted by blood-sucking mosquitoes with filarial nematodes of the species Wuchereria bancrofti, Brugia malayi und B. It is prevalent in tropical countries throughout the world, with more than 60 million people infected and more than 1 billion living in areas with the risk of transmission. Therapeutic options include combinations of ivermectin, albendazole, diethylcarbamazine and doxycycline.
The latter depletes endosymbiotic Wolbachia bacteria from the worms and thus sterilizes and later kills the adult worms macrofilaricidal or adulticidal effect. Parasitic diseases are rarely encountered in Europe and the clinical and imaging features are generally not well known. In the era of worldwide migration and refugees, knowledge of such diseases has gained importance as illustrated by multiple recently published reports of hydatid diseases 1 2 3 4 5 , schistosomiasis 6 7 , fasciolosis 8 , ascariasis 9 , liver flukes 10 , toxocariasis and other rare intestinal diseases 11 This article describes the clinical and imaging features along with current treatment strategies for filariasis.
Across the world, nematodes roundworms cause a wide variety of parasitic infections of the subcutaneous and lymphatic tissue of almost all organs with significant economic and psychosocial damage. Lymphangitis, lymphedema and the formation of fibrosis, sclerosis and scars are the pathophysiologically important sequelae. Loiasis and onchocerciasis are rarely associated with lymphedema. LFI caused by W.
Nematodes are transmitted by mosquitoes. The mosquito vectors for filariasis vary geographically including the genus Culex, Anopheles, Aedes, Mansonia, and Coquillettidia. Humans are the so-called definitive host where the sexual stages develop. The adult worms do not replicate in humans.
