Periodicity of Wuchereria bancrofti var. pacifica filariasis in French Polynesia

In 1992, a study on microfilaremia periodicity was carried out on 12 Wuchereria bancrofti carriers in the Marquesas islands. Blood samples were collected simultaneously every 4 hours during a 48 hour period by finger-prick and venipuncture for determination of microfilaremia by both blood film and membrane filtration technique methods, and for determination of antigenemia. The membrane filtration results showed no significant nycthemeral variations between the microfilaria densities at hours 16:00, 20:00, 24:00, 04:00, 08:00 and 12:00. Conversely, the blood film method showed a significant difference between the microfilaria densities: the microfilaremia was higher during the day (12:00-20:00 hours) than during the night (24:00-08:00 hours). As for antigenemia, using Og 4 C3 monoclonal antibody, there was no significant fluctuation during 48 hours. These results confirm that W. bancrofti var. pacifica is subperiodic and diurnal in French Polynesia. In particular, they substantiate the validity of examining venous blood by the membrane filtration technique as the judgment criterion of choice in therapeutic trials and of examining capillary blood during peak hours by the blood film method for evaluating the endemic level in a population.