Outcome of therapy of lymphatic filariasis documented by lymphoscintigraphy infrastructure development training and education

Lymphatic filariasis (LF) is a parasitic disease caused by thin, thread-like filarial worms transmitted to humans by the bite of mosquitoes. The adult worms lie deep in the lymph vessels of the scrotum, groin, armpit, and around the breasts where they may live for 4–6 years. These worms grow and mature in the lymph vessels and produce millions of baby worms called microfilaria, which appear in the peripheral blood at night and can be identified to certain extent by night blood examination. The results are important in view of the fact that >50% of the infected children are asymptomatic and no other method is capable of demonstrating improvement of lymphatic flow and hence the effect of the treatment. This ongoing study has shown that lymphoscintigraphy is a simple and efficient method to establish the diagnosis and document therapeutic response, particularly in children having no significant clinical manifestation of the disease