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Wuchereria bancrofti in Kwale District, Coastal Kenya: patterns of focal distribution of infection, clinical manifestations and anti-filarial IgG responsiveness

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 1998

C. N. WAMAE ,
S. M. GATIKA ,
J. M. ROBERTS  and
P. J. LAMMIE
C. N. WAMAE
Affiliation:
Centre for Microbiology Research, Kenya Medical Research Institute, P.O. Box 54840, Nairobi, Kenya
S. M. GATIKA
Affiliation:
Centre for Microbiology Research, Kenya Medical Research Institute, P.O. Box 54840, Nairobi, Kenya
J. M. ROBERTS
Affiliation:
Division of Parasitic Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Highway, Atlanta, Georgia 30341, USA
P. J. LAMMIE
Affiliation:
Division of Parasitic Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Highway, Atlanta, Georgia 30341, USA
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Abstract

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A cross-sectional study of bancroftian filariasis was conducted in 2 adjacent communities, Mvumoni and Kilore in Muhaka, Kwale District. Wuchereria bancrofti infection, clinical manifestations and anti-filarial IgG responsiveness were determined before the long rains, a time coinciding with a low transmission season. The prevalence of microfilaraemia increased gradually with age and was significantly higher in Kilore (24%) than in Mvumoni (6·3%, P<0·001). Similarly, the prevalence of antigenaemia increased with age and also was significantly higher in Kilore, 48·9% than in Mvumoni, 20·5% (P<0·001). Hydrocele, funiculitis, lymphangitis and lymphadenitis were also significantly more common in Kilore than in Mvumoni. In comparing the 2 communities, levels of IgG4 responsiveness in antigen-positive persons were higher in Kilore than Mvumoni (P=0·034), but this was related to higher antigen loads in persons in Kilore than in Mvumoni. In antigen-negative persons, anti-filarial antibodies of 3 IgG isotypes were significantly higher in Kilore than Mvumoni (P<0·001, for IgG1, IgG2, IgG4). These results emphasize the highly focal nature of bancroftian filariasis in this setting and demonstrate that anti-filarial antibody levels are related to transmission intensity.

Keywords

filariasismicrofilariaantigenantibodyfocal transmission
Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 116 , Issue 2 , February 1998 , pp. 173 - 182
Copyright
1998 Cambridge University Press