Nt1310 Unit 3 Assignment 1

Morgan Trahan
10/02/2014
Unit 3 Assignment 1
Lymphatic filariasis is an extremely painful infection of the lymphatic system. It is caused when thread-like filarial parasites are transmitted to humans through mosquitoes. There are three forms of the parasites which are Wuchereria bancrofti, Brugia malayi and Brugia timorican. The most common is Wuchereia bancrofti. When the mosquito bites the human, it injects the larvae into the blood stream which then circulates into the lymphatic system. The parasites can live up to six years in a human. The disease is most common in tropical areas and sub-tropical areas such as mid-Africa and southern Asia due to their elevated temperatures and moist climate CITATION Sab14 \l 1033 (Institute, 2014).
Standard diagnosis for filariasis is by blood smear. The parasites that cause the disease circulate through the blood at night so typically doctors will take a blood sample at night, then look for the parasite under a microscope. Once a person has been diagnosed doctors typically prescribe Diethylcarbamazine. Diethylcarbamazine kills the microvilli and some of the adult worms. It is no longer available in physicians in the United States because the Federal Drug Association has disapproved the drug. Though if lab results are positive then physicians can obtain the drug from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention CITATION Cen10 \l 1033 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,