- Commonly known as elephantiasis, is a neglected tropical disease.
- Infection occurs when filarial parasites are transmitted to humans through mosquitoes.
- Infection is usually acquired in childhood causing hidden damage to the lymphatic system.
- The painful and profoundly disfiguring visible manifestations of the disease, lymphoedema, elephantiasis and scrotal swelling occur later in life and can lead to permanent disability.
- The parasites are transmitted by four main types of mosquitoes: Culex, Mansonia, Anopheles and Aedes.
- It is transmitted by different types of mosquitoes for example by the Culex mosquito, widespread across urban and semi-urban areas, Anopheles, mainly found in rural areas, and Aedes, mainly in endemic islands in the Pacific.
