Filariasis in an infant with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia: a rare enigma

Filariasis, a tropical parasitic infection, is a common public health problem in the Indian sub-continent. Occurrence of filariasis with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is unusual, particularly in infants, since filariasis has a long incubation period of about 1 year. Though, there are case reports of leishmaniasis, malaria and other vector borne diseases seen in association with leukemias, filariasis co-existing with ALL has not been documented to the best of our knowledge. We report an incidental finding of Bancroftian filariasis in an 11 month old female already diagnosed as B-cell ALL.