CDC - Loiasis - Treatment (2024)

FAQs

What is the treatment of choice for loiasis? ›

The drug of choice for the treatment of loiasis is diethylcarbamazine (DEC). Most patients will achieve cure, defined as resolution of symptoms, resolution of eosinophilia, and decreasing antifilarial antibody titers, with one or two courses of DEC. Some will require additional courses of DEC or a trial of albendazole.

Symptoms of Loiasis

Swellings usually last 1 to 3 days in residents of affected areas, but in travelers to these areas, swellings may occur more often and be more severe. The movement of adult worms across the eye may be unsettling and make the eyes itch or feel irritated. But it usually causes no permanent damage.

It is estimated that 3-13 million people have loiasis.

The larvae (immature worms) spread through the blood to the lungs and other organs and develop into adults. The adult worms reproduce microscopic immature worms, called microfilariae, which the deerfly ingest when they feed on an infected person. Loiasis does not spread directly from person to person.

During 17.62 years of cohort follow-up, 751 deaths were recorded, representing a crude mortality rate of 15.36 (95% CI, 14.28–16.50) per 1000 person-years. Median survival time was 58.5 (95% CI, 49.7–67.3) years and 39.2 (95% CI, 32.6–45.8) years for amicrofilaremic and microfilaremic indiviudals, respectively.

The drug of choice for the treatment of loiasis is diethylcarbamazine (DEC) at a dose of 8-10 mg/kg per day given orally in three divided doses, although dose finding studies in Loa loa infection have not been performed (1).

How is loiasis treated? Antiparasitic medications, like ivermectin and diethylcarbamazine (DEC), treat loiasis. But people with high levels of Loa loa microfilariae in their blood can have life-threatening reactions to these medications.

Medications for intestinal worms are usually taken for 1 to 3 days. Symptoms typically begin to improve within a few weeks. Your doctor will most likely take and analyze another stool sample after treatment is complete to see if the worms have disappeared.

Life Cycle of Loa loa. 1. When an infected fly bites a person, it deposits Loa loa larvae onto the person's skin, and the larvae enter the bite wound. 2. The larvae mature into adults in tissues under the skin (in subcutaneous tissue).

The first clinical signs of L. loa infection may appear as early as 2 months after initial infection, although the latent period can extend up to 20 years [3,4,6,7]. Most cases of loiasis are asymptomatic or mild [3].

What is the diagnostic stage of loiasis? ›

Diagnostic Findings

Loa loa is usually diagnosed by the finding of microfilaria in peripheral blood smears or adults in the subconjunctiva. The blood films may be thick or thin and stained with Giemsa or hematoxylin-and-eosin. For increased sensitivity, concentration techniques can be used.

Ascaris lumbricoides, the causative agent of ascariasis, is the most common parasitic worm in humans. Ascariasis can be asymptomatic, causing only malnutrition and growth retardation, or it may present with abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, bloating, and diarrhea.

Loiasis is a disease of the subcutaneous and submucosal tissue caused by infection of the helminth Loa loa, also known as the African Eye Worm. Loa loa is endemic to Central and West Africa, where it is transmitted by flies of the genus Chrysops.

loa requires removal. This can be safely done by incision of the conjunctiva tissue and extraction of the adult subconjunctival worm with a pair of forceps.

Loiasis, caused by the filaria Loa loa, is a parasitic disease endemic in rural West and Central Africa [1].

Praziquantel is the drugs of choice for treatment of dipylidiasis. To control D.

Ivermectin is now considered to be the drug of choice for the treatment of onchocerciasis.

Treatment. The WHO recommended medicines – albendazole (400 mg) and mebendazole (500 mg) – are effective, inexpensive and easy to administer by non-medical personnel (e.g. teachers). They have been through extensive safety testing and have been used in millions of people with few and minor side-effects.

Antinematodal drugs: Albendazole is also used to manage most infections caused by nematodes (roundworms) and is the drug of choice for ascariasis, trichuriasis, trichinosis, cutaneous larva migrans, hookworm, and pinworm infections.