Two of the remote barangays (villages) in Tboli town of Philippines have been reported confirmed cases in the past several years and in 2021, 33 cases of lymphatic filariasis, also known as elephantiasis have been recorded.
The local health organization had conducted the regular surveillance and case finding activities to detect possibly new infections.
Circulating microfilariae can be detected by examining thick smears (20–60 μl) of finger-prick blood. Blood must be collected at a specific time – either at night or during the day – depending on the perio-dicity of the microfilariae. The method is inexpensive and feasible at individual and community levels for mapping the endemicity of lymphatic filariasis and monitoring mass drug administration (MDA).
Brugia Rapid point-of-care cassette test manufactured by Reszon Diagnostics is recommended by WHO for use during Transmission Assessment Surveys (TAS) to detect IgG4 antibody against Brugia spp. in human blood samples.
Learn more on Brugia Rapid
Reference:
Allen Estabillo (2021) SoCot steps up surveillance, case-finding vs. filariasis. The Philippine News Agency. Accessed on 5 Dec 2022
