Prevalence of Lymphatic Filariasis in an Endemic District of Nepal

Abstract

Abstract

This lymphatic filariasis (LF) prevalence study was carried out at two sentinel sites, Mahendranagar and Nagrain Village Development Committees (VDCs), in one of the endemic districts, Dhanusha, in the Terai plain region of Nepal, during June-July 2002. A total of 1,085 finger prick thick blood smear samples were collected from volunteers at two sentinel sites, 468 from Mahendranagar and 617 from Nagrain VDCs, from 22.00-02.00 hr, and were examined for presence of helminthic parasite Wuchereria bancrofti, as per standard protocol. Twenty-five out of 468 samples (5.3%) collected from Mahendranagar were found to be microscopically positive for W. bancrofti, while only 14 out of 617 samples (2.3%) from Nagrain VDC were found to be positive for this filarial parasite. The prevalence of microfilaremia in Mahendranagar was higher than in Nagrain VDC. The surveillance result showed that, though the participation of males and females was almost equal, the prevalence was found to be higher in females. The prevalence data may be useful in planning for the elimination of LF, as per the WHO goal to eliminate LF by the year 2020.

Keywords : lymphatic filariasis, epidemiology, prevalence, Nepal, Wuchereria bancrofti, microfilaria