Lymphatic filariasis

What it is

Lymphatic filariasis (LF) is a severe form of filariasis, caused by the parasitic worms Wuchereria bancrofti, Brugia malayi and Brugia timori, and the most common cause of acquired lymphedema worldwide. LF is endemic to tropical and subtropical regions. The vast majority of infected patients are asymptomatic but it can also cause a variety of clinical manifestations, including limb lymphedema, genital anomalies (hydrocele, chylocele), elephantiasis in later stages of the disease (frequently in the lower extremities), and tropical pulmonary eosinophilia (nocturnal paroxysmal cough and wheezing, weight loss, low-grade fever, adenopathy, and pronounced blood eosinophilia). Renal involvement (hematuria, proteinuria, nephritic syndrome, glomerulonephritis), and mono-arthritis of the knee or ankle joint have also been reported.

Key facts

Prevalence

>1 / 1000 (Specific population)

Age of onset

All ages

Inheritance

Not applicable

Classified as

Disease

Prevalence figures describe populations, not individuals, and are often estimates from a single study. Where the figure is an incidence or a birth prevalence, it says so.

Signs and symptoms

These ranges are how often a sign appears across everyone diagnosed, not a prediction for one person — most people have some of these and not others. Orphanet also records findings that are specifically absent in this disease; those are in the data but not listed here.

ICD-10 codes

Cross-references