· Wucherer (1866 AD) reported larva of Wuchereria (microfilaria) in urine and Bancroft discovered adult females in 1876 AD.
· Manson discovered that Wuchereria bancrofti requires transmission through the skin by a blood-sucking intermediate host.
· Digenetic parasite, primary (final) host-man, secondary (intermediate) host and vector- mosquito (female Culex pipiens)
· Adult worms live coiled up in lymph vessels and lymph glands of man where they often block the flow of lymph.
· Sexual dimorphism, female is larger and ovoviviparous or viviparous. It produces microfilariae. During the night, the microfilariae migrate to peripheral blood vessels. From here they are picked up by mosquitoes and spread to other humans. In humans, the adult parasite causes blocking of lymph glands and vessels resulting in Lymphoedema. This leads to enlargement of affected organs like leg, scrotum, mammary glands, etc. i.e., called wuchereriasis or filariasis or elephantiasis.
Morphology
· Mouth is without lips, anterior muscular, and posterior glandular pharynx. No oesophageal bulb, simple intestine. The posterior end of the male is ventrally curved with genital papillae, caudal alae, and two unequal copulatory spicules. The vulva of the female is located ventrally in the pharyngeal region provided with ovijector.· Infection can be treated by administering Heterazan and compounds of Antimony and Arsenic to reduce or eradicate microfilariae from the circulatory system.
· Life span 5-10 years.
· Protection of body from mosquito bites.
Also, Read our Other Notes Important for Entrance Exams:
- Phylum Protozoa
- Leishmania donovani
- Amoeba proteus
- Phylum Porifera
- Phylum Coelenterata
- Hydra
- Phylum Ctenophora
- Phylum Platyhelminthes
- Liver fluke
- Tapeworm
- Phylum Nemathelminthes
- Ascaris lumbricoides (Roundworm)
- Wucheria bancrofti (Filarial worm)
- Ancylostoma (Hookworm)
- Enterobius (Pinworm)
- Phylum Annelida
- Earthworm
- Phylum Arthropoda
- Cockroach
- Mosquito
- Phylum Mollusca
- Phylum Echinodermata
- Phylum Chordata