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FILARIA
& OTHER TISSUE
NEMATODES
BBS-PR 2017
Parasitology Dept.
 Filaria
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 Classification based on habitat:

 Lymphatic filaria
 Non-lymphatic filaria
 Cutaneous filaria
 Body cavity filaria

 Lymphatic filaria: Wuchereria bancrofti, Brugia

malayi, Brugia timori
 Cutanoeus filaria: Loa loa, Onchocerca volvulus
 Body cavity filaria: Acanthocheilonema perstans,
and Mansonella ozzardi
 Epidemiology
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Endemic Countries

Dewi M. Darlan 01/14/23

 Filaria
General
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 Superfamily Filarioidea
 Family Acanthocheilonematidae
 Widespread in the tropic, subtropic, and
temperate zones
 Many species known as parasite in humans
 Lymphatic filariae are also found in Indonesia.
The rest of the filariae (non lymphatic filariae
are mostly distributed in Africa)  not covered
in this topic.
 Filaria
General
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 Vivipar
 The larva is called microfilaria
 The internal structure f the microfilaria is very
important for the diagnosis of filariasis
 Microfilaria periodicity or Turnus
 Adults are parasitic in lymphatic vessels and
lymph nodes of the final host
 Final host is mammals including humans, causes
lymphatic filariasis
 Vector: blood-sucking insects
 Microfilaria Periodicity
Definition
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 Also called Turnus

 Microfilariae stay in the lung during the daytime
and come rarely out to the peripheral vessels, but
soon after sunset they begin to appear in the
peripheral blood, increasing in number from 10
p.m. until 6 a.m. (nocturnal periodicity)
 Microfilaria Periodicity
Theories
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 There are a number of theories

 Photodynamic substance theory by Masuya
 Fluorescent substances in the microfilaria’s
body are injured by the sunlight (W. bancrofti
and B. malayi)
 Microfilaria of Loa loa has no fluorescent
substance at all
 Lymphatic filaria
Wuchereria bancrofti
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 The larva was found by Demarquay (1863) and

Wucherer (1866)
 The adult was first found by Bancroft in 1876
 Nocturnal periodicity
 Vector: Culex and Aedes
 Wuchereria bancrofti
Morphology
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 Adults look like thin and long threads

 Female is 80-100 mm, male is 25-45 mm with
spiral-shaped tail
 Fertilized eggs is 30-40 x 20-25 m, the egg
cell develops rapidly to form a larva while in
the uterus
 Wuchereria bancrofti
Morphology
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 Microfilaria is sheated and smooth-shaped,

0.24-0.35 mm long
 Regular nuclei, no terminal nucleus
 Cephalic space: the length is equal with the
width
 Wuchereria bancrofti
Morphology
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 Lymphatic filaria
Brugia malayi
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 The larva was first observed from a native

Sumatera by Brug (1927)
 Nocturnal periodicity
 Vector: Mansonia uniformis (rural) and
Anopheles spp. (urban)
 Brugia malayi
Morphology
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 Adult resembles that of W. bancrofti

 Female is 43-55 mm, male is 13-23 mm with
spiral-shaped tail
 Brugia malayi
Morphology
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 The larva is sheated and slightly winding (kinky),

0.18-0.23 mm long
 Irregular nuclei, 2 terminal nuclei
 Cephalic space: the length is twice as the width
 Brugia malayi
Morphology
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 Brugia timori
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 Overlapping body nuclei

 Sheath does not stain pinkish but bluish
 Cephalic space elongated, ratio 1:3 (h)
 Presence of sub-terminal and terminal
nucleus (i)
 Non lymphatic filaria
Loa loa
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 Also called the African

eye worm
 Causes Loaiasis
(Calabar swelling)
 Spead in tropical Africa
 Final host: humans and
apes
 Vector: females of
Chrysops spp.
 Loa loa
Morphology
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 Female is 5-7cm, and male is 3-3.5cm long

 Microfilaria is 0.25-0.3mm, sheated
 Diurnal periodicity (neither fluorescent
substance nor granules are found in its
body)
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22 Other nematode
Dracunculus medinensis
 Dracunculus medinensis
General
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 Also called dragon worm

 Final host: mainly humans
 Distributed in Middle East and Southeast
Asia
 I’mediate host: Cyclops
 Habitat is subcutaneous tissues
 Dracunculus medinensis
Morphology
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 Adult female is very thin

and long, 70-120cm long,
male is very short, being
only 4cm long
 Dracunculus medinensis
Life Cycle
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http://blogs.biomedcentral.com/bugbitten/files/2013/12/The-life-cycle-of-Dracunculus-medinensis-courtesy-of-The-Carter-Center.jpg
 Other tissue Nematode:
Gnathostoma spinigerum

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