Observations on experimental infection of periodic Brugia malayi in man

Three volunteers were inoculated with different numbers of infective larvae of periodic Brugia malayi from an artificially infected Meriones unguiculatus. At different times after inoculation, the volunteers developed clinical manifestations such as chills, fever, cough, asthma, skin itching, edema, adenolymphangitis and eosinophilia. Microfilaremia was first detected at 41 and 46 weeks after inoculation in two subjects. At 11 weeks, the percentage of E-rosette forming lymphocytes in these subjects was below the normal level. Specific antibody was first detected in three volunteers at 2, 3 and 5 weeks after inoculation, respectively, and increased to various extent at 12-16 weeks, but decreased in varying degrees at 44-56 weeks. The results also showed that antibody titres fluctuated at different periods of infection.