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The effect of pregnancy on Wuchereria bancrofti microfilarial load in humans

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 1999

N. D. E. ALEXANDER  and
B. T. GRENFELL
N. D. E. ALEXANDER
Affiliation:
Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research, PO Box 60, Goroka, EHP 441, Papua New Guinea Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ
B. T. GRENFELL
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ
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Abstract

As part of a drug trial against bancroftian filariasis in the East Sepik Province of Papua New Guinea we measured the pre-treatment microfilarial densities of 2219 individuals. Mean levels generally increased with age in both sexes, with a tendency to plateau at the highest ages. However, there was a reduction among women of approximately reproductive age. Allowing for the tendency for aggregation to decrease with age, this reduction was statistically significant. However, a comparison of pregnant women and controls showed no evidence that the reduction is specifically related to pregnancy. Moreover, a simple differential equation model of microfilarial acquisition and loss suggests that age-specific patterns of exposure are also unlikely to be solely responsible. Therefore, we suggest that the observed reduction in microfilarial intensity may result from hormonal changes associated with female reproduction, possibly in combination with other factors.

Keywords

Wuchereria bancroftilymphatic filariasisage factorssex factorsinfection susceptibility
Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 119 , Issue 2 , August 1999 , pp. 151 - 156
Copyright
1999 Cambridge University Press

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