Bancroftian filariasis: Clinical parasitologic and serologic evaluation after 4 years appling two antifilarial regimens

ABSTRACT

In August 1997, 124 individuals out of 1110 were selected as being seropositive for circulating filarial antigen OG4C3 [CFA]. Ten healthy children proven negative for CFA were used as controls. The patients were classified into G1 [28 patients, 20 asymptomatic microfilaremic [MF] and eight symptomatic amicrofilaremic [AMF]], G2 [80 patients, 22 asymptomatic MF, 48 asymptomatic AMF and 10 symptomatic AMF] and G3 [16 asymptomatic AMF]. G1 was treated by a single annual dose of diethyl carbamazine [DEC] [6 mg/kg], G2 by a single annual dose of albendazole 400 mg and DEC [6 mg/kg] and G3 remained untreated. Four years later [2001], patients were reevaluated. Microfilaremia prevalence in MF patients was lowered to 20% [G1] and 9.1% [G2]. Antigenemia prevalence was lowered to 46.4%, 17.5% and 87.5% in the three groups, respectively. The disease became manifested among the asymptomatic in 5% [G1], 10% [G2] and 25% [G3]. The four years lowered the prevalence of microfilaremia, but it was not sufficient for its elimination from the blood