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History of Elephantiasis
Lymphatic Filariasis otherwise known as Elephantiasis is believed to have been around as early as 2000 B.C. A statue of Pharaoh Mentuhotep II depicts swollen limbs, a characteristic of elephantiasis. The first written account of lymphatic filariasis comes from the ancient Greek and Roman civilizations. -
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Discovery of symptoms
The first reliable documentation of elephantasis not occur until an exploration of Goa between 1588 and 1592. During this trip, Jan Huygen Linschoten wrote that inhabitants were "all born with one of their legs and one foot from the knee downwards as thick as an elephants leg." Although this was the first account of elephantasis symptoms documentaion was made in parts of Africa and Asia soon after. -
Discovery of Microfilariae
In 1863, French surgeon Jean-Nicolas Demarquay became the first to record the observation of microfilariae in fluid extracted from a Infected area. Three years later, Otto Henry Wucherer discovered microfilariae in urine in Brazil. However, the connection between these two discoveries was not made until Timothy Lewis noted the occurrence of microfilariae in both blood and urine. Lewis was also the first to make the association between these microfila -
Discovery of Adult worm
Joseph Bancroft documented a new species, the Adult Worm. -
Discovery of the Life cycle
One of the most break through discoveries was that made by Patrick Manson in 1877. Manson was the first to look for a host for microfilariae. In 1877, he was finally able to pinpoint the microfilariae in mosquitoes. This discovery was later applied to other tropical diseases such as malaria, and was the first discovery of an arthropod as a carrier. -
Discovery of transmission
Even though Manson was able to pinpoint the carrier he incorrectly hypothesized that the transmission occurred when the mosquito deposited the filaria in water that then infected humans through ingestion of contaminated water or direct skin penetration. In 1900, George Carmichael Low discovered microfilariae in the mouth of mosquitoes, and finally pinpointed the true mechanism of transmission. Due to this discovery, we now know that transmission is due to an infective bite from a mosquito.
