A multidisciplinary study on bancroftian filariasis in Jakarta

A study on bancroftian filariasis in Jakarta has indicated that one person in one year could be exposed to 223,000 bites of Culex pipens fatigans and to 1,941 infective-stage larvae of Wuchereria bancrofti. Blood surveys with 20 mm3 samples revealed a microfilaria rate of 6%. Although some cases of hydrocele (4% of 272 males examined) were found, there was little evidence of severe filarial disease in either males or females. Amongst wild-caught mosquitoes only 0.3% contained infective larvae, but much higher levels of vectorial competence were established under laboratory conditions. High daily vector mortality (30%) coupled with noticeable improvements in standards of living could have been important factors preventing an increase in endemicity.