Acute Lymphatic Filariasis Infection in United States Armed Forces Personnel Deployed to the Pacific Area of Operations during World War II Provides Important Lessons for Today

The deployment of United States (US) Armed Forces personnel into the central Pacific islands of Samoa and Tonga, which is highly-endemic for lymphatic filariasis (LF), resulted in thousands of cases of the acute form of this disease and greatly reduced their ability to carry out their mission. The m...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Tropical medicine and infectious disease 2020-04, Vol.5 (2), p.63
Main Authors: Melrose, Wayne D, Leggat, Peter A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
helminth
lymphatic filariasis
medical history
military
Pacific
WW2
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Summary:The deployment of United States (US) Armed Forces personnel into the central Pacific islands of Samoa and Tonga, which is highly-endemic for lymphatic filariasis (LF), resulted in thousands of cases of the acute form of this disease and greatly reduced their ability to carry out their mission. The major driving factor for the intensity of transmission was the aggressiveness and efficiency of the species mosquito vectors, especially the day-biting The paper reminds us of the danger that tropical diseases can pose for troops sent into endemic areas and constant and careful surveillance that is required to prevent rapid resurgence of -transmitted LF in populations, where the LF elimination program has been successful.
ISSN:2414-6366
2414-6366
DOI:10.3390/tropicalmed5020063