Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 15, 2026

05:28
Standard Membrane Feeding Assay for the Detection of Plasmodium falciparum Infection in Anopheles Mosquito Vectors
Published on: May 12, 2022
[Filariasis]
1Service de parasitologie et mycologie, équipe UPRES EA 3595, faculté de médecine Antilles-Guyane et centre hospitalier de Cayenne, BP 6006, 97306 Cayenne, Guyane française. b.carme@wanadoo.fr
La Revue Du Praticien
|April 17, 2007
Summary
Filariasis, tropical parasitic diseases transmitted by vectors, are diagnosed through clinical signs or lab tests. Effective treatments like ivermectin and albendazole offer hope for disease elimination.
Area of Science:
- Parasitology
- Tropical Medicine
- Immunology
Context:
- Filariasis encompasses a group of vector-transmitted parasitic diseases predominantly found in tropical regions.
- Disease impact varies based on filarial species and host immune response.
- Diagnosis relies on clinical manifestations (dermatological, lymphatic) and laboratory findings (hypereosinophilia, microfilariae detection).
Purpose:
- To provide an overview of filariasis, including diagnostic approaches and current treatment strategies.
- To highlight the challenges in diagnosing filariasis, particularly the paradox of amicrofilaremia in symptomatic individuals.
- To discuss the potential for eradicating certain filarial diseases as public health concerns.
Summary:
- Filariasis diagnosis involves clinical signs, laboratory tests for microfilariae, antibodies, or antigens, with symptomatic cases sometimes being amicrofilaremic.
- Treatment typically involves a combination of ivermectin and albendazole, with diethylcarbamazine also remaining an option.
- Diseases like dracunculiasis are nearing eradication, and lymphatic filariasis and onchocerciasis elimination is a medium-term goal.
Impact:
- Improved understanding of filariasis diagnosis and management.
- Supports public health initiatives aimed at filariasis control and elimination.
- Highlights the importance of integrated treatment strategies for vector-borne parasitic diseases.
Related Concept Videos
Leishmaniasis
Leishmaniasis is a protozoal disease caused by species of the genus Leishmania and transmitted through the bite of infected female sandflies. The parasite exists in two principal morphological forms during its life cycle. A sandfly acquires intracellular amastigotes from an infected reservoir host, such as a dog. Within the sandfly, these forms differentiate into motile, flagellated promastigotes. During a subsequent blood meal, promastigotes are injected into the human host, where they...
American Trypanosomiasis
Chagas disease, or American trypanosomiasis, is a vector-borne parasitic infection caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, a flagellated protozoan (kinetoplastid) of the family Trypanosomatidae. The disease is endemic in Latin America, although cases are increasingly reported worldwide due to human migration. Transmission most commonly occurs when feces of infected triatomine bugs contaminate bite wounds or mucosal surfaces; additional routes include congenital, transfusional, transplant-related, and oral...
Malaria
Malaria pathogenesis in humans reflects a delicate interplay between parasite biology and host response. Clinical illness reflects a host’s immune response to the parasite’s asexual replication cycle, which is often asymptomatic in individuals with partial immunity. From the parasite's perspective, transmission between mosquito and human with minimal host pathology is evolutionarily advantageous. Among the six Plasmodium species infecting humans, P. falciparum and P. vivax dominate in global...
Symbiosis
Symbiotic relationships are long-term, close interactions between individuals of different species that affect the distribution and abundance of those species. When a relationship is beneficial to both species, this is called mutualism. When the relationship is beneficial to one species but neither beneficial nor harmful to the other species, this is called commensalism. When one organism is harmed to benefit another, the relationship is known as parasitism. These types of relationships often...
Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever
Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF) is a severe tick-borne illness caused by Rickettsia rickettsii, a Gram-negative, coccobacillary bacterium. This pathogen is an obligate intracellular parasite, requiring a host cell for replication. Transmission occurs through the bite of an infected tick. In the United States, the most important vectors are Dermacentor variabilis (American dog tick) and Dermacentor andersoni (Rocky Mountain wood tick), though other tick species may also serve as vectors.
Toxoplasmosis
Toxoplasmosis, a zoonotic disease caused by the protozoan Toxoplasma gondii, poses significant public health challenges globally due to its high seroprevalence and varied clinical manifestations. As an obligate intracellular parasite, T. gondii can infect all warm-blooded vertebrates, but felids are its only definitive hosts, shedding unsporulated oocysts into the environment. Humans typically acquire the infection through ingestion of tissue cysts in undercooked meat or oocysts from...

