exudates and Lymphedema

Topics: Attitude to Health; Brugia; Diethylcarbamazine; Emigration and Immigration; Filariasis; Humans; Lymphedema; Malaysia; Research; Socioeconomic Factors; Wuchereria bancrofti

A study to identify the knowledge of infected and uninfected respondents on filariasis and epidemiologic factors in one endemic community in Malaysia to determine their role in the transmission and control of filariasis was carried out. The data were collected by non-participant observations and interviews using semi-structured schedules. The majority of respondents in both groups had knowledge of filariasis. There was no marked difference between male and female respondents, and similarly, there was fair distributions of knowledgeable respondents with and without some years of schooling. On filarial transmission, 9.2% of the infected said that filariasis was contacted through mosquito bites, while among the uninfected it was 7.4%. Within the infected, 14.8% thought that filarial worms entered the human body through the consumption of unhygenically prepared foods and drinks while, among the uninfected it was 20.4%. Both groups were aware of the presence of mosquitoes in their village. However, the majority did not associate this factor with host's susceptibility to filarial infections. Rather, they were of the opinion that personal hygiene and proper meals had something to do with filariasis. The findings showed there was general awareness of filariasis in the community which might indicate that the health campaigns had reached various levels of the population. Yet, they still lacked knowledge on disease transmission. Also, they did not make direct association between environment and exposure to mosquitoes bites though they were aware of their presence but which they regarded as not directly harmful to their health.

Topics: Adult; Attitude to Health; Brugia; Culture; Data Collection; Female; Filariasis; Humans; Lymphedema; Malaysia; Male; Middle Aged

Similar HLA association was found in patients with elephantiasis in Sri Lankans and Southern Indians. HLA-B15 was observed in 13/44 (30%) Sri Lankan patients with elephantiasis compared to 1/27 (4%) Sri Lankan controls (p = .0058; RR = 10.9) and in 5/8 (28%) Southern Indian elephantiasis compared to 10/101 (10%) Southern Indian controls (p = 0.04; RR = 3.5). In combining the data, the significance of the difference of the frequency of B15 between patients with elephantiasis and controls was even more marked (p = 0.00045; corrected p = 0.012; RR = 4.4).

Topics: Asian People; Disease Susceptibility; Elephantiasis; Female; Filariasis; HLA Antigens; Humans; Lymphedema; Malaysia; Male; Singapore; Sri Lanka

Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Child; Child, Preschool; Ethnicity; Female; Filariasis; Filarioidea; Genital Diseases, Male; Humans; India; Infant; Lymphadenitis; Lymphangitis; Lymphedema; Malaysia; Male; Middle Aged; Occupations; Socioeconomic Factors; Tropical Climate