Talk:Filariasis

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Outside the United States
The article uses the clause "outside the United States" in the Treatment section, which is likely in respect of one or more of the drugs not being allowed for use in humans and/or the specific disease in the United States. It actually appears that similar restrictions apply in Canada and for a matter of fact for a number of other drugs that can and are (just elsewhere) used to treat parasitic infections. Could somebody with expertise in this field please expand the article to give the "outside the United States" somewhat more context? 66.46.103.18 (talk) 18:50, 17 November 2009 (UTC)

About Discussion of Merging Fialriasis article with Elephantasis
Both elephantiasis and this article are covering almost the same material and repeating most of the same information. Rmhermen (talk) 17:01, 9 October 2008 (UTC)


 * --Filariasis is more than just elephantiasis, and Lymphatic Filariasis. It also consists of Subcutaneous Filariasis with the filarial nematode worms known as Loa Loa, Mansonella Streptocerca, Onchocerca Volvulus, and Drancunculus Medinensus(guinea worm). It also consists of Serous Cavity Filariasis with the worms Mansonella Perstans, and Mansonella Ozzardi. All need to be included. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 207.34.115.66 (talk) 16:32, 22 October 2008 (UTC)


 * --I have edited the Filariasis description, tell me what you think. Annishanabee (talk) 20:06, 20 November 2008 (UTC)


 * --Annishanabee you definitely clarified the variety of conditions which fall under the heading of "filariasis" in humans. I agree that there is value in having a page dedicated to highlighting (and differentiating) the general features of a group of related diseases, in addition to more detailed pages devoted to each one individually. I have re-worded the text in some places, for your approval. Mgrien (talk) 01:54, 23 November 2008 (UTC)


 * --Good edits Mgrien, I have added some text to the diagnosis section as well as the treatments section. In the diagnosis section I explain the different variables of blood collection. In the treatment section I stated that treatments do not kill the adult worms. The degreee of pathology with this disease would seem to be directed at the microfilariae and/or the symbiotic bacteria that are harbored within them. The adult worms seem to evade our immune system, except upon its death from old-age or injury. Some scientists have claimed that the insecticide treatment kills the adult worm, but given our lack of technology to see into the skin and substantiate adult worm eradication, that claim is unfounded.Annishanabee (talk) 12:41, 28 June 2010 (UTC)

Personally, I dont think that the article should me merged. In fact, filariasis must remain a distinct entity. Please DO NOT merge. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 59.160.76.161 (talk) 08:03, 5 January 2009 (UTC)

The two articles should NOT be merged – they describe two different concepts. Elephantasis is only one of several clinical manifestations of filariasis. Ole Terkelsen MD PhD--Olet (talk) 23:40, 8 March 2009 (UTC)

Agreed, don't merge for above reasons. But there is no reason for the two pages to repeat the same information. Filariasis doesn't need to be explained on the Elephantasis page and visa versa. Just consolidate the repetitive information to the appropriate page and use internal links when discussing topics pertaining to other pages. Mba123 (talk) 22:12, 15 May 2009 (UTC)Mba123

I combined the merge discussion, which appears to have been going on since October. The suggestion to merge may have come from poor wording on the Elephantiasis page, which at one point described filariasis and elephantiasis as synonyms. I corrected this wording to clarify that in fact, filariasis can cause elephantiasis, but filariasis may also exist without leading to elephantiasis, especially if successfully treated in its early stages. Or perhaps the merge suggestion came about from a general confusion about the filariasis disease process. Whatever the reason, the suggestion has been posted for some time now, and it seems that so far, no one has disagreed with the preceding explanations for not merging the articles. I think it might be time to remove the merge suggestion from the top of both articles. Mba123 (talk) 13:05, 21 May 2009 (UTC)

Despite
Despite being treated by Hetrazen, i know of someone with elephantiasis whose condition is deteriorating over the years, and the infection is now spreading...what advise would any medical professional have?

Trivia section?
This disease was mentioned in House episode Cursed when a concerned father surprisingly mentions it as a possible cause for his son's condition. Should a "trivia" section of some sort be added where this could be mentioned? --AlphaEtaPi 04:00, 26 December 2005 (UTC)


 * The video file linked is clearly a joke; I mean, just look at the url... I left it there though 'cause it's so funny!

--Not all filarial worms are transmitted by malaria, you've mentioned 'Onchocerca volvulus' - transmitted by blackfly. (Cambridge University student)

Reverted
I just reverted the recentmost edit which added an entire article copied from another website, concerning a 'cure' found in India. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Vijeth (talk • contribs) 15:07, 10 April 2008 (UTC)

Why does "prueba" redirect here?
Is it a type of disease this article covers and if so why isn't it mentioned in the article?Kairos (talk) 09:47, 29 October 2008 (UTC)
 * Appears to have long since been delinked. Aderksen (talk) 16:50, 20 February 2013 (UTC)

Background section:
The current first two references (MeshName|Filariasis and DorlandsDict|three/000040249|filariasis) are not the strongest references. Some potential better references that are more informative are:
 * http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dpd/parasites/lymphaticfilariasis/index.htm
 * http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs102/en/
 * http://www.who.int/lymphatic_filariasis/en/
 * Lymphatic filariasis Edited by Thomas B. Nutman. (http://books.google.com/books?id=sH_YL0aXvkkC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false)
 * http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/217776-overview

Signs and Symptoms:
A number of tags requesting references were added:
 * …the first disease discovered to be transmitted by mosquito bites. Potential Reference: Infectious Diseases: Prevention and Treatment in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. By Wesley William Spink. Page 383. http://books.google.com/books?id=VFetCminBT4C&pg=PA383&dq=filariasis&lr=&cd=26#
 * However, different species of filarial worms tend to affect different parts of the body: Wuchereria bancrofti can affect the legs, arms, vulva, breasts, and scrotum (causing hydrocele formation)... Potential reference: http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/996732-overview
 * while Brugia timori rarely affects the genitals. Potential reference: Lymphatic filariasis and Brugia timori: prospects for elimination. Fischer P, Supali T, Maizels RM. Trends Parasitol. 2004 Aug;20(8):351-5. PMID: 15246315.
 * the 2nd leading cause of blindness in the world. Potential Reference: http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/diseases/oncho/en/
 * --> take note that this potential reference states that it (Onchocerciasis) is the the 2nd leading INFECTIOUS cause of blindness —Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.69.155.186 (talk) 02:59, 6 June 2010 (UTC)

Diagnosis:
Some tags requesting references were added: The http://www.jbtdrc.org/SEVA_FILA.pdf reference is a good reference to include in the document; however, the current formatting is incorrect (it doesn’t appear as a reference, rather an in-line link).
 * … since the microfilaria circulate at night(nocturnal periodicity), when their mosquito vector is most likely to bite. Very good reference: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dpd/parasites/lymphaticfilariasis/factsht_lymphatic_filar.htm

Also, I feel that information may be missing regarding the the concentration methods. What is being concentrated here? Why does this need to be done? What are the pros/cons of these methods? This should be clarified and references should be added regarding each of the different techniques.

I feel that the last paragraph of the section is a little weak and confusing. It comes across very technical. If it to be included, it may be best to focus on the pros and cons of each technique, with the necessary citations added.

A good general reference on diagnosis may be http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/217776-diagnosis. Also be sure to check out http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs102/en/ since it outlines a new test that should probably be included: “Until very recently, diagnosing lymphatic filariasis had been extremely difficult, since parasites had to be detected microscopically in the blood, and in most parts of the world, the parasites have a "nocturnal periodicity" that restricts their appearance in the blood to only the hours around midnight. The new development of a very sensitive, very specific simple "card test" to detect circulating parasite antigens without the need for laboratory facilities and using only finger-prick blood droplets taken anytime of the day has completely transformed the approach to diagnosis. With this and other new diagnostic tools, it will now be possible both to improve our understanding of where the infection actually occurs and to monitor more easily the effectiveness of treatment and control programmes.”

Prevention:
Some tags requesting citations were added:
 * “The use of insecticide-treated mosquito bed nets also reduces the transmission of lymphatic filariasis as well as malaria, which is prevalent in many of the same communities in Africa”. The current reference http://www.cdc.gov/malaria/features/nigeria_bednets_program.htm|accessdate=2008-07-17 is broken. I cannot find an updated link for this reference. Also, the current reference “How is Lymphatic Filariasis Treated?” is not appropriate here as this information is not in this reference. The best reference is probably the broken CDC reference; however, the closest I could find is  http://www.cdc.gov/malaria/malaria_worldwide/reduction/itn.html, but this doesn’t have anything to do with filariasis.
 * “The efforts of the Global Programme to Eliminate LF are estimated to have already prevented 6.6 million new filariasis cases from developing in children, and to have stopped the progression of the disease in another 9.5 million people who have already contracted it”: A good reference here would be http://www.who.int/wer/2009/wer8442.pdf from http://www.who.int/lymphatic_filariasis/disease/en/.


 * Possibly http://www.cdc.gov/malaria/tools_for_tomorrow/research_areas.html might be useful, though it's not exactly secondary. LeadSongDog come howl!  04:55, 21 March 2014 (UTC)

Treatment:
The current Hoerauf A et al. and Taylor et al. citations are primary research articles. They should be deleted and replaced with secondary sources. A recent review may be appropriate since this deals with the use of antibiotics to treat filariasis: Hoerauf A. Filariasis: new drugs and new opportunities for lymphatic filariasis and onchocerciasis. Curr Opin Infect Dis. 2008 Dec;21(6):673-81. PMID: 18978537.

Overall, this section can probably be expanded. A good potential reference for this would be http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/217776-treatment. There is a lot of information there that can be distilled to something simpler.

Finally, the current Katrina Outland reference should be deleted. While this looks like a journal article, the actual article is more akin to a popular press article (very similar to a “News and Views” in Nature.

Epidemiology:
Overall, I feel this section can probably be expanded. While the map is a good addition, there may be some potential confusion as it presents “disability-adjusted life years” and not incidence/prevalence. Right now, only the bare statistics are provided. I am sure that there are more out there. Also, the maps and statistics are from 2002. A map based on more recent data may be better (especially do to the success of the eradication efforts in Southeast Asia. However, I cannot seem to find a good reference providing updated epidemiological statistics. The most recent Global programme to eliminate lymphatic filariasis - Progress report on mass drug administration in 2008 report (http://www.who.int/wer/2009/wer8442.pdf) focuses more on the number of people treated, and not on the number of people with the disease. If this information is to be updated, it may be necessary to go to primary research studies for the individual countries.

History:
Also, I recommend deleting the citation from the final sentence since there is one already present in the first sentence of the paragraph.
 * The current http://www.stanford.edu/class/humbio103/ParaSites2006/Lymphatic_filariasis/Discovery.htm citation should be replaced. Some potential citations:
 * Life Cycle of Wuchereria Bancrofti." How is LF Contracted? 25 December 2005. The Global Alliance to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis. 13 May 2006. http://www.filariasis.org/index.pl?iid=3253
 * Chapter 1: Lymphatic Filariasis: A Historical Perspective in Lymphatic filariasis. Edited by Thomas B. Nutman. http://books.google.com/books?id=sH_YL0aXvkkC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false

TJS001 (talk) 23:57, 2 May 2010 (UTC)

Map
The map shows South Korea being heavily affected, yet it is not mentioned in the list of countries in Asia.107.15.117.51 (talk) 04:04, 4 December 2012 (UTC)

Diseases
This article appears to confuse a number of diseases. Needs to separate them out. Will work on this. Doc James (talk · contribs · email) (if I write on your page reply on mine) 13:04, 20 March 2014 (UTC)

Map needed?
The article seems to have had its map removed? But some idea of how far north etc these critters get would be good... — Preceding unsigned comment added by 182.249.244.39 (talk) 05:58, 25 May 2015 (UTC)

Treatment
In the treatment section of the article, I would like to specify how there are three medical treatments: diethylcarbamazine, albendazole, and ivermectin[1]. Depending on how in depth I want to go into it, I can then discuss how each treatment is implemented and discuss further details behind the treatments. The article does not discuss any of the side effects that the treatments cause, and some of which can be rather severe. I would like to go into detail on some of the side effects of these treatments, such as head aches and nausea and vomiting[1]. Next, I would address the sentence that states that the medications are to "no effect on the adult worms". This sentence does not provide any sources to support that information, and during my research I have in fact found multiple sources that state of the treatments killing the adult worms[2][1].Ktaylor95 (talk) 05:13, 13 October 2016 (UTC)


 * Sounds good, please go ahead. Make sure you stick to the standard headings of this article as specified in the Manual of Style for the WikiProject Medicine. EvMsmile (talk) 15:22, 24 October 2016 (UTC)

Bibliography: Bockarie,Moses, Hoerauf, Achim, and Mark J. Taylor. "Lymphatic filariasis and onchocerciasis". The Lancet. 376. 9747 (2010): 1175-1185. ScienceDirect. Web. 12 Oct. 2016.

Debrah, A. Y., Hoerauf, A., Pfarr, K. M., and Specht, S. "Filariasis and lymphoedema". Parasite Immunology. 31. 11 (2009): 664-672. Wiley Online Library. Web. 12 Oct. 2016.

Hewitt, Kirsten, and Whitworth James AG. "Filariasis". Medicine. 33. 8 (2005): 61-61. ScienceDirect. Web. 12 Oct. 2016.

Levine, Norman. "Filariasis." Dermatology Therapy. Berlin: Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2004. 238-239. Web. 12 Oct. 2016.

Turkington, Carol A. "Filariasis." The Gale Encyclopedia of Public Health. Ed. Laurie J. Fundukian. Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale, 2013. 351-353. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 12 Oct. 2016. Essay.svg

1.^ Jump up to: a b c Turkington, Carol A. (2013). The Gale encyclopedia of public health (First edition. ed.). Detroit: Gale, Cengage Learning. pp. 351–353. ISBN 1414498799. Retrieved 12 October 2016. Unknown parameter |CX2760500101&v= ignored (help)

2.Jump up ^ Taylor, Mark J.; Hoerauf, Achim; Bockarie, Moses (October 2010). "Lymphatic filariasis and onchocerciasis". The Lancet. 376 (9747): 1175–1185.Ktaylor95 (talk) 05:13, 13 October 2016 (UTC)

Pronunciation?
How do you pronounce this, please? Bhami (talk) 02:19, 15 July 2020 (UTC)

Incorrect information applying to only 1 specific form of filariasis from citation
"These parasites exist in the wild in subtropical parts of southern Asia, Africa, the South Pacific, and parts of South America. One does not acquire them in temperate areas like Europe or the United States."

This comes from a cdc citation specific to lymphatic filariasis, not filariasis in general, and greatly misconstrues the occurrence of the entire category of disease. There are multiple types of filariasis caused by vectors found frequently in the temperate regions of the US, an example would be https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dirofilaria_immitis which was endemic to the southern united states before having a cosmopolitan distribution. This section needs to be greatly amended, much of the article in fact is giving information specific to only lymphatic filariasis rather than filariasis, which is potentially harmful misinformation. 2600:4040:5205:CC00:C09D:C9AB:576:70BA (talk) 16:33, 20 March 2024 (UTC)