Loa loa filariasis is a skin and eye disease caused by the nematode worm Loa loa. Humans contract this disease through the bite of a deer fly or mango fly, the vectors for Loa loa. The adult Loa loa filarial worm migrates throughout the subcutaneous tissues of humans, occasionally crossing into subconjunctival tissues of the eye where it can be easily observed. Loa loa does not normally affect one's vision but can be painful when moving about the eyeball or across the bridge of the nose. The disease can cause red itchy swellings below the skin called "Calabar swellings". The disease is treated with the drug diethylcarbamazine (DEC), and when appropriate, surgical methods may be employed to remove adult worms from the conjunctiva. Loiasis belongs to the so-called neglected diseases.
Loa loa is a filarial (arthropod-borne) nematode (roundworm) that causes Loa loa filariasis. Loa loa actually means "worm worm", but is commonly known as the "eye worm", as it localizes to the conjunctiva of the eye. Loa loa is commonly found in Africa. It mainly inhabits rain forests in West Africa and has native origins in Ethiopia. The disease caused by Loa loa is called loiasis and is one of the neglected tropical diseases.
Onchocerciasis, also known as river blindness, is a disease caused by infection with the parasitic worm Onchocerca volvulus. Symptoms include severe itching, bumps under the skin, and blindness. It is the second-most common cause of blindness due to infection, after trachoma.
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.
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 lymphatic filariasis. In rare conditions, it also causes tropical pulmonary eosinophilia. 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 World Health Organization Global Program to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis with the aim to eradicate the disease as a public-health problem by 2020. However, this goal was not met by 2020.
Gnathostomiasis, also known as larva migrans profundus, is the human infection caused by the nematode Gnathostoma spinigerum and/or Gnathostoma hispidum, which infects vertebrates.
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.
Onchocerca volvulus is a filarial (arthropod-borne) nematode (roundworm) that causes onchocerciasis, and is the second-leading cause of blindness due to infection worldwide after trachoma. It is one of the 20 neglected tropical diseases listed by the World Health Organization, with elimination from certain countries expected by 2025.
Acanthocheilonema is a genus within the family Onchocercidae which comprises mainly tropical parasitic worms. Cobbold created the genus Acanthocheilonema with only one species, Acanthocheilonema dracunculoides, which was collected from aardwolf in the region of South Africa in the nineteenth century. These parasites have a wide range of mammalian species as hosts, including members of Carnivora, Macroscelidea, Rodentia, Pholidota, Edentata, and Marsupialia. Many species among several genera of filarioids exhibit a high degree of endemicity in studies done on mammalian species in Japan. However, no concrete evidence has confirmed any endemic species in the genus Acanthocheilonema.
Acanthocheilonemiasis is a rare tropical infectious disease caused by a parasite known as Acanthocheilonema perstans. It can cause skin rashes, abdominal and chest pains, muscle and joint pains, neurological disorders and skin lumps. It is mainly found in Africa. The parasite is transmitted through the bite of small flies. Studies show that there are elevated levels of white blood cells.
Lymphatic filariasis is a human disease caused by parasitic worms known as filarial worms. Usually acquired in childhood, it is a leading cause of permanent disability worldwide, impacting over a hundred million people and manifesting itself in a variety of severe clinical pathologies While most cases have no symptoms, some people 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. Affected people are often unable to work and are often shunned or rejected by others because of their disfigurement and disability.
In population ecology, density-dependent processes occur when population growth rates are regulated by the density of a population. This article will focus on density dependence in the context of macroparasite life cycles.
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.
Mansonelliasis is the condition of infection by the nematode Mansonella. The disease exists in Africa and tropical Americas, spread by biting midges or blackflies. It is usually asymptomatic.
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.
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.
Dirofilaria repens is a filarial nematode that affects dogs and other carnivores such as cats, wolves, coyotes, foxes, and sea lions, as well as muskrats. It is transmitted by mosquitoes. Although humans may become infected as aberrant hosts, the worms fail to reach adulthood while infecting a human body.
The Filarioidea are a superfamily of highly specialised parasitic nematodes. Species within this superfamily are known as filarial worms or filariae. Infections with parasitic filarial worms cause disease conditions generically known as filariasis. Drugs against these worms are known as filaricides.
Mansonella streptocerca,, is a filarial (arthropod-borne) nematode (roundworm) causing the disease streptocerciasis. It is a common parasite in the skin of humans in the rain forests of Africa, where it is thought to be a parasite of chimpanzees, as well.
Many species of flies of the two-winged type, Order Diptera, such as mosquitoes, horse-flies, blow-flies and warble-flies, cause direct parasitic disease to domestic animals, and transmit organisms that cause diseases. These infestations and infections cause distress to companion animals, and in livestock industry the financial costs of these diseases are high. These problems occur wherever domestic animals are reared. This article provides an overview of parasitic flies from a veterinary perspective, with emphasis on the disease-causing relationships between these flies and their host animals. The article is organized following the taxonomic hierarchy of these flies in the phylum Arthropoda, order Insecta. Families and genera of dipteran flies are emphasized rather than many individual species. Disease caused by the feeding activity of the flies is described here under parasitic disease. Disease caused by small pathogenic organisms that pass from the flies to domestic animals is described here under transmitted organisms; prominent examples are provided from the many species.
