Loa loa
From IDWiki
Background
Epidemiology
- Transmitted by Chrysops silacea and Chrysops dimidiata flies
Clinical Manifestations
- Often asymptomatic
- Most common symptom is Calabar swellings, a 10- to 20-cm painful, itchy subcutaneous swelling caused by migration of the adult worms
- The lesions are essentially angioedema in response to the worm
- Worms can also migrate to the conjunctiva, where they are visible
- Infection can be complicated by hematuria and proteinuria, as well as as encephalitis, precipitated by treatment during high-level microfilaremia
Management
- Must rule out high-level microfilaremia (>2500 microfilariae/mL) before considering medical treatment, due to the risk of encephalitis
References
- ^ Jérémy T Campillo, Paul Bikita, Marlhand Hemilembolo, Frédéric Louya, François Missamou, Sébastien D S Pion, Michel Boussinesq, CédricB Chesnais. Safety and Efficacy of Levamisole in Loiasis: A Randomized, Placebo-controlled, Double-blind Clinical Trial. Clinical Infectious Diseases. 2021;75(1):19-27. doi:10.1093/cid/ciab906.
