Brugia

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Brugia
Brugia malayi.JPG
B. malayi from blood smear using Giemsa stain.
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Nematoda
Class: Chromadorea
Order: Rhabditida
Family: Onchocercidae
Genus: Brugia
Buckley, 1960
Species

Brugia malayi
Brugia timori
Brugia pahangi
Brugia patei

Contents

Brugia is a genus for a group of small roundworms. They are among roundworms that cause the parasitic disease filariasis. [1] Specifically, of the three species known, Brugia malayi and Brugia timori cause lymphatic filariasis in humans; and Brugia pahangi and Brugia patei infect domestic cats, dogs and other animals. [2] [3] They are transmitted by the bite of mosquitos. [4]

Discovery

The first species discovered was B. malayi. It was reported by a Dutch parasitologist Steffen Lambert Brug in 1927 from Southeast Asia (Malaya, for which the name was given). It was originally believed to be similar or closely related to another filarial roundworm then named Microfilaria bancrofti (now Wuchereria bancrofti ), described by an English naturalist Thomas Spencer Cobbold in 1877. It was for this reason that Brug gave the original name Microfilaria (Filaria) malayi. Brug was aware of the difference mainly on the basis of their occurrence. He found both the worms in Sumatra, Java, Borneo, and Celebes; but in New Guinea only W. bancrofti was present, but not the new species. [5] They are so similar that even after a decade of research, there were still arguments of B. malayi as a separate and valid species. As such S. Sundar Rao and P.A. Maplestone assigned the name Wuchereria malayi in 1940. [6] The scientific name was retained for two decades. [7]

When a new species (now called Brugia pahangi) was discovered in 1956 from dog and cat, J. J. C. Buckley and J. F. B. Edeson named it Wuchereria pahangi after the village Pahang in Malay, where it was discovered. [8] Another species Wuchereria patei was described by Buckley, with G. S. Nelson and R. B. Heisch, in 1958. It was discovered from cats and dogs in Pate Island, Kenya. [9] Buckley reexamined all the Wuchereria species in 1960, and concluded that the genus should contain only W. bancrofti. He created a new genus Brugia in honour of the original discoverer, thus renaming B. malayi, B. pahangi, and B. patei. [10] In 1977, a new species B. timori was reported from Flores Island in Indonesia. [11]

Description

Brugia roundworms are small, measuring less than a centimetre. The longest female is 60 mm long and 0.19 mm wide, and male is 25 mm long and 0.1 mm wide. [10] Like other roundworms, the females are larger and longer than the males. The young ones called microfilariae are less than half a millimetre. They are enclosed in a sheath (egg shell) which are easily stained with Giemsa stain (but not for B. timori). [11] The sheath protects them while moving in the blood stream. [12] Species of Brugia are similar to W. bancrofti and Loa loa . But they can be differentiated from their smaller microfilariae, complex spicules, and fewer caudal papillae (typically 11, while it is 24 in W. bancrofti). [10]

Life cycle

Brugia roundworms complete their life cycle in two different hosts. Mosquitos are the intermediate host in which the young larvae develop, and thus they are also the vectors of filariasis. Different species of Mansonia and Aedes act as the intermediate hosts. [13] Humans (for B. malayi and B. timori), and animals (for B. pahangi and B. patei) acts as the definitive hosts in which the adult worms cause filariasis. The infective larvae called L3 (third stage) larvae are transmitted by an infected mosquito onto the skin of the definitive host. Once reaching the blood stream, they grow into adult roundworms. Male and female worms reproduce to release the young worms called microfilariae. These microfilariae move to peripheral blood stream from where they are picked up by another mosquito. Inside the mosquito, they became larvae, first L1 and then L3. The L3 larvae are stored in the proboscis from where they are ejected into the host during biting. [14] [15]

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Diethylcarbamazine is a medication used in the treatment of filariasis including lymphatic filariasis, tropical pulmonary eosinophilia, and loiasis. It may also be used for prevention of loiasis in those at high risk. While it has been used for onchocerciasis, ivermectin is preferred. It is taken by mouth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Filariasis</span> Parasitic disease caused by a family of nematode worms

Filariasis is a parasitic disease caused by an infection with roundworms of the Filarioidea type. These are spread by blood-feeding insects such as black flies and mosquitoes. They belong to the group of diseases called helminthiases.

<i>Wuchereria bancrofti</i> Medical condition

Wuchereria bancrofti is a filarial (arthropod-borne) nematode (roundworm) that is the major cause of lymphatic filariasis. It is one of the three parasitic worms, together with Brugia malayi and B. timori, that infect the lymphatic system to cause lymphatic filariasis. These filarial worms are spread by a variety of mosquito vector species. W. bancrofti is the most prevalent of the three and affects over 120 million people, primarily in Central Africa and the Nile delta, South and Central America, the tropical regions of Asia including southern China, and the Pacific islands. If left untreated, the infection can develop into a chronic disease called lymphatic filariasis. In rare conditions, it also causes tropical eosinophilia, an asthmatic disease. No vaccine is commercially available, but high rates of cure have been achieved with various antifilarial regimens and lymphatic filariasis is the target of the WHO Global Program to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis with the aim to eradicate the disease as a public-health problem by 2020.

<i>Brugia malayi</i> Medical condition

Brugia malayi is a filarial (arthropod-borne) nematode (roundworm), one of the three causative agents of lymphatic filariasis in humans. Lymphatic filariasis, also known as elephantiasis, is a condition characterized by swelling of the lower limbs. The two other filarial causes of lymphatic filariasis are Wuchereria bancrofti and Brugia timori, which both differ from B. malayi morphologically, symptomatically, and in geographical extent.

Brugia pahangi is a parasitic roundworm belonging to the genus Brugia. It is a filarial nematode known to infect the lymph vessels of domestic cats and wild animals, causing a disease filariasis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lymphatic filariasis</span> Medical condition

Lymphatic filariasis is a human disease caused by parasitic worms known as filarial worms. Most cases of the disease have no symptoms. Some people, however, develop a syndrome called elephantiasis, which is marked by severe swelling in the arms, legs, breasts, or genitals. The skin may become thicker as well, and the condition may become painful. The changes to the body have the potential to harm the person's social and economic situation.

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<i>Mansonella perstans</i> Species of roundworm

Mansonella perstans is a filarial (arthropod-borne) nematode (roundworm), transmitted by tiny blood-sucking flies called midges. Mansonella perstans is one of two filarial nematodes that causes serous cavity filariasis in humans. The other filarial nematode is Mansonella ozzardi. M. perstans is widespread in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa, parts of Central and South America, and the Caribbean.

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Brugia timori is a filarial (arthropod-borne) nematode (roundworm) which causes the disease "Timor filariasis", or "Timorian filariasis". While this disease was first described in 1965, the identity of Brugia timori as the causative agent was not known until 1977. In that same year, Anopheles barbirostris was shown to be its primary vector. There is no known animal reservoir host.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Microfilaria</span> Early stage in the life cycle of certain parasitic nematodes in the family Onchocercidae

The microfilaria is an early stage in the life cycle of certain parasitic nematodes in the family Onchocercidae. In these species, the adults live in a tissue or the circulatory system of vertebrates. They release microfilariae into the bloodstream of the vertebrate host. The microfilariae are taken up by blood-feeding arthropod vectors. In the intermediate host the microfilariae develop into infective larvae that can be transmitted to a new vertebrate host.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Onchocercidae</span> Family of roundworms

The Onchocercidae are a family of nematodes in the superfamily Filarioidea. This family includes some of the most devastating human parasitic diseases, such as lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, loiasis, and other filariases.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Filarioidea</span> Superfamily of roundworms

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<i>Culex quinquefasciatus</i> Species of fly

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Tropical (pulmonary) eosinophilia, or TPE, is characterized by coughing, asthmatic attacks, and an enlarged spleen, and is caused by Wuchereria bancrofti, a filarial infection. It occurs most frequently in India and Southeast Asia. Tropical eosinophilia is considered a manifestation of a species of microfilaria. The filariasis is transmitted by a vector, specifically the bite of a Culex, Anopheles, or Aedes mosquito, and the microfilariae (larvae) take up residence in the lung tissue, hindering respiration and causing chest pain as the disease progresses.This disease can be confused with tuberculosis, asthma, or coughs related to roundworms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skusea pembaensis</span> Species of fly

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Setaria cervi is a species of parasitic roundworms belonging to the genus Setaria. It infects cattle, bison, yak, reindeer, buffalo, moose, and sheep all over the world. It is most prevalent in Europe and Asia. Different species of Aedes mosquito can transmit the filarial worm. Stable fly Haematobia stimulans is the major vector. The mature roundworms are primarily present in the abdominal (peritoneal) cavity, but are capable of migrating to central nervous system causing serious neurological disease.

<i>Armigeres subalbatus</i> Species of fly

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References

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