Elephantiasis: Lymphatic Filariasis, Endemic Nonfilarial Elephantiasis (Podoconiosis), and Dracunculiasis (Guinea Worm)

Elephantiasis is the most severe and dramatic complication of lymphatic filariasis (LF), a chronic infection caused primarily by the filarial parasite Wuchereria bancrofti . Dracunculiasis is another chronic infection caused by a filaria-like parasite, Dracunculus medinensis , also known as the guinea worm. This chapter considers LF and dracunculiasis, while onchocerciasis, another filarial infection, and discusses together with trachoma as major causes of blindness. The health and socioeconomic impact of LF for the poorest people of India, Africa, and elsewhere is huge. A number of factors, both biological and social, provide great optimism that LF elimination efforts through mass drug administration could be extended worldwide. Podoconiosis is another type of lymphedema found in the tropics, and bears some clinical resemblance to elephantiasis caused by LF. The control of LF and guinea worm infection, like so many neglected tropical diseases control programs, represents extremely low-cost and cost-efficient measures.