Subject(s)
Adolescent , Adult , Animals , Child , Child, Preschool , Female , Filariasis/epidemiology , Humans , India/epidemiology , Industry , Infant , Male , Middle Aged , Prevalence , Tea , Wuchereria bancrofti/isolation & purificationABSTRACT
Current status of bancroftian filariasis among two distinct communities of Upper Assam was evaluated. High prevalence (10.3% mf rate) in tea workers descendents of tribals migrated from endemic states such as Orissa, Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and southern states of India, were recorded. Among non tea workers (indigenous population) significantly low mf rate was found in spite of the fact that both the communities are living in close vicinity and in similar ecological and mosquitogenic conditions. Culex quinquefasciatus was incriminated as vector in the areas of both the communities. A group of recent migrants of Bihar and Bengal living in the locality of non tea worker population were also found microfilaraemic. Significantly lower infection rate in non tea worker population appears to be associated with host susceptibility to the infection. Familial clustering in microfilaraemic subjects noticed in tea workers group also suggests involvement of racial susceptibility to infection.
Subject(s)
Adolescent , Adult , Child , Child, Preschool , Elephantiasis, Filarial/epidemiology , Female , Humans , India/epidemiology , Industry , Infant , Male , Middle Aged , Prevalence , TeaSubject(s)
Adolescent , Adult , Age Factors , Aged , Child , Child, Preschool , Elephantiasis, Filarial/epidemiology , Female , Humans , India/epidemiology , Infant , Infant, Newborn , Insect Proteins , Male , Middle Aged , Sex Factors , SilkABSTRACT
Follow up of microfilaraemic individuals infected with Wuchereria bancrofti at five years after treatment was carried out in a tea workers population. Diethylcarbamazine citrate in the dose schedule of 72 mg/kg body weight given in equal daily doses over a period of 21 days cleared 51.6 per cent microfilaraemic individuals five year post-treatment. Eighty five subjects were successfully followed and among these, 10 (11.8%) showed increase in mf counts, 31 (36.4%) showed reduction but remained microfilaraemic and 44 (51.8%) became amicrofilaraemic. The age and sex of the host had no significant effect on the clearance of mf. Persistence of a relatively stable low number of mf in treated individuals is more likely due to survival of one or more female worms after the therapy or due to reinfection which could not be ruled out in the present study. Overall, findings indicated that diethylcarbamazine citrate appeared to give a long-term benefit to treated individuals.