HELLO STEEMIT! Today I'm going to be talking about a disease, one that is known already, but may not be commonly talked about as malaria😀. It's called FILARIASIS.
"On a faithful day,my dad woke up with itching on certain parts of his body which grew worse. It was so bad that he asked me to help him out with itching,using a hair brush.
The more he itched, the more the urge to itch kept coming, spreading to other parts. After a while we noticed some rashes on the skin (resembling that of measles), swelling and redness. After a visit to the doctor, his test result showed he had filariasis.......".
Filariasis is a parasitic infection or disease caused by the filarial parasites(nematodes). There are quite a number of them, and so the clinical manifestations one get depends on the type of filarial worm involved. It is a known public health problem in Nigeria and some other parts of Africa.
Types of filariasis include; Wechereria bancrofti(most common in Nigeria), Loa loa, Onchoncercia volvulus, Monsenella spp,.....just to mention a few.
These parasites get into the human body through the bite of certain mosquitoes and flies(vectors), eg, blackfly. Once they get in, they complete their life cycle and cause great harm. They mostly attack the body's immune system, leaving the body defenceless.
Symptoms include itching, swelling and rash appearance, onchodermatitis, inflammed and swollen lymph nodes, filarial elephantiasis (comes with lymphatic filariasis, the worst of all). Filarial elephantiasis can occur at the limbs (fingers and toes included), face, breast, lower trunk, vulva and scrotum.
Filariasis can be treated with antihelminthic therapy, the use of antibiotics, and/or through surgical intervention, depending on the type of filarial infection. A quick medical consultation is strongly adviced.
Prevention of this disease is solely by eradication of vectors in order to prevent the spread of the parasites. This can be achieved through personal hygiene/environmental sanitation, proper waste collection and disposal, and use of insecticide.
"....On a bright note, my dad is doing great as his symptoms subsided with his medication. His symptoms weren't more than what he experienced, thank God🙂🙂!
My next post will b coming up soon.
With ❤