Elephantiasis Caused by Filariasis
BelÌ©m, ParÌÁ, Brazil. Mrs. Albertina Oliveira de Souza, a victim of elephantiasis - five years of growth. Filariasis is an infection with Wuchereria bancrofti, a roundworm species spread by mosquitoes. Its manifestations are recurring attacks of fever and slowly increasing swellings of the affected parts - usually the limbs (particularly the legs) and male genitals (attributed to interference of the adult thread-like worm with the lymphatic system by blockage and calcification), and in late stages ulcers, tubercles, and fissuring of the skin. The elephantoid appearances were noted and studied long before the etiologic agent was discovered, the first description having been written about 600 BC in India. The disease is widespread in tropical and subtropical countries, and along some low-lying coastal areas. Treatments differ depending on the geographic location of the endemic area. In sub-Saharan Africa, albendazole and ivermectin are used, whereas elsewhere in the world, albendazole is used with diethylcarbamazine.
Size: 3029px × 3805px
Photo credit: © Photo Researchers / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: abnormal, bancrofti, bw, caused, clinical, condition, disease, edema, elephantiasis, elephantism, filariasis, growth, helminthiasis, infected, infection, legs, limbs, lymphatic, macroparasitic, medical, medicine, nematode, parasitic, pathological, pathology, roundworm, science, swell, swelling, swollen, tropical, unhealthy, worm, wuchereria
