Distinct loiasis infection states and associated clinical and hematological manifestations in patients from Gabon.
PLoS Negl Trop Dis
; 16(9): e0010793, 2022 09.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-36121900
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Loiasis-a filarial disease endemic in Central and West Africa-is increasingly recognized as significant individual and public health concern. While the understanding of the disease characteristics remains limited, significant morbidity and excess mortality have been demonstrated. Here, we characterize clinical and hematological findings in a large cohort from Gabon.METHODS:
Loiasis-related clinical manifestations and microfilaremia, hemoglobin and differential blood counts were recorded prospectively during a cross-sectional survey. For analysis, participants were categorized into distinct infection states by the diagnostic criteria of eye worm history and microfilaremia.RESULTS:
Analysis of data from 1,232 individuals showed that occurrence of clinical and hematological findings differed significantly between the infection states. Eye worm positivity was associated with a wide range of clinical manifestations while microfilaremia by itself was not. Loa loa infection was associated with presence of eosinophilia and absolute eosinophil counts were associated with extent of microfilaremia (p-adj. = 0.012, ß-estimate0.17[0.04-0.31]).CONCLUSIONS:
Loiasis is a complex disease, causing different disease manifestations in patients from endemic regions. The consequences for the affected individuals or populations as well as the pathophysiological consequences of correlating eosinophilia are largely unknown. High-quality research on loiasis should be fostered to improve patient care and understanding of the disease.
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Loiasis
Type of study:
Diagnostic_studies
/
Observational_studies
/
Prevalence_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limits:
Animals
Country/Region as subject:
Africa
Language:
En
Journal:
PLoS Negl Trop Dis
Journal subject:
MEDICINA TROPICAL
Year:
2022
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Austria