[Lymphatic filariasis in Republic of Congo and scrotal elephantiasis].
Cases of scrotal elephantiasis operated in the Brazzaville' hospital are naturally imputed to Wuchereria bancrofti, in spite of the absence of parasitological proof. This is due to the fact that data's diffused by WHO which are widely included in the literature, unfortunately present this filariasis as being endemic in the Republic of Congo. But it is impossible to identify what works are at the origin of this assertion during the 30 last years. What is certain, it is that no case of lymphatic filariasis was found at the time of the field surveys carried out on filariasis both in the Congo and in Gabon, country also presented as an endemic territory, at the end of the Seventies and during the Eighties. These works were unfortunately published in French. Since this time no publication related a fieldwork or a conclusive clinical observation has confirmed the presence of Wuchereria bancrofti in these two countries of Central Africa.
Carme
B
B
Laboratoire hospitalo-universitaire de parasitologie et mycologie, Equipe EA 3593. Centre hospitalier de Cayenne et Faculté de médecine des Antilles et de la Guyane, BP 6006, F-97306 Cayenne. b.carme@wanadoo.fr
D000818:Animals; D003223:Congo; D004605:Elephantiasis, Filarial / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000469:parasitology; D019353:Endemic Diseases; D005368:Filariasis / Q000145:classification; D005681:Gabon; D005832:Genital Diseases, Male / Q000469:parasitology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008368:Mansonelliasis / Q000175:diagnosis; D009855:Onchocerciasis / Q000175:diagnosis; D012611:Scrotum / Q000469:parasitology*; D014958:Wuchereria bancrofti / Q000302:isolation & purification