IngentaConnect Loiasis: the individual factors associated with the presence of m...

Authors: Pion, S.D.S.¹; Demanou, M.²; Oudin, B.²; Boussinesq, M.³

Source: Annals of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology, Volume 99, Number 5, July 2005 , pp. 491-500(10)

Abstract:

No microfilariae are detectable in a significant percentage of those infected with the filarial worm Loa loa. While the probability of an infected individual becoming microfilaraemic is known to increase with age, the mechanisms underlying this trend are not well understood. Epidemiological data from an endemic village in central Cameroon were therefore explored, in an attempt to determine if, after taking into account any history of filaricidal treatment, the presence of Loa microfilaraemia in an individual was related to his/her gender, age, and/or exposure to the human-infective larvae of the parasite. An index of exposure, based on the monthly transmission potentials of the Chrysops in each of the main types of vegetation in a village and on the activity schedule of each inhabitant of the village, was developed. The results of the data analysis confirm that the acquisition of microfilaraemia is gender-dependent (males generally being more likely to be microfilaraemic than females), and indicate that, in males, a high level of exposure to infective larvae determines the shift from amicrofilaraemic to microfilaraemic status. They also indicate that filaricidal treatments have a long-lasting suppressive effect on Loa microfilaraemia, an observation that may have important implications for any strategy to limit the risk of Loa-associated encephalopathy following ivermectin treatment.

Document Type: Research article

DOI: 10.1179/136485905X51300

Affiliations: 1: Laboratoire mixte IRD (Institut de Recherche pour le Développement) – CPC (Centre Pasteur du Cameroun) d'Epidémiologie et de Santé publique, Centre Pasteur du Cameroun, B.P. 1274, Yaoundé, Cameroon; Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, St Mary's Campus, Norfolk Place, London W2 1PG, U.K. 2: Laboratoire mixte IRD (Institut de Recherche pour le Développement) – CPC (Centre Pasteur du Cameroun) d'Epidémiologie et de Santé publique, Centre Pasteur du Cameroun, B.P. 1274, Yaoundé, Cameroon 3: Laboratoire mixte IRD (Institut de Recherche pour le Développement) – CPC (Centre Pasteur du Cameroun) d'Epidémiologie et de Santé publique, Centre Pasteur du Cameroun, B.P. 1274, Yaoundé, Cameroon; Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Département Sociétés et Santé, 213 rue La Fayette, 75480 Paris Cedex 10, France

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Loiasis: the individual factors associated with the presence of microfilaraemia