What is LF?

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What is LF?

In 2006 the World Health Organisation estimated that over 1.3 billion people are at risk of lymphatic filariasis (LF), a devastating parasitic infection spread by mosquitoes. LF - caused by thread-like parasitic worms that damage the human lymphatic system - is usually contracted in childhood, often before age five. One of the world's most disabling and disfiguring diseases, LF afflicts the poorest. The disease is estimated to infect over 120 million people, with more than 40 million incapacitated or disfigured with swelling of the limbs and breasts (lymphoedema) and genitals (hydrocele), or swollen limbs with dramatically thickened, hard, rough and fissured skin (elephantiasis). LF prevents afflicted individuals from experiencing a normal working and social life, furthering the cycle of poverty.	The disfigured legs of patients waiting for medical attention at the Vector Control Research Centre (VCRC). © World Health Organization
Worms lodge in the lymphatic system, the network of nodes and vessels that maintains the delicate fluid balance between the tissues and blood, and which is an essential component for the body's immune defence system. The worms live for an estimated 4-6 years, producing millions of immature microfilariae (tiny larvae) that circulate in the blood and are then picked up by mosquitoes.