Distribution and Impact
Mansonelliasis is found in Latin America from the Yucatán peninsula to northern Argentina, in the Caribbean, and in Africa from Senegal to Kenya and south to Angola and Zimbabwe. M. ozzardi is found only in the New World, M. steptocerca is found only in the Congo basin, and M. perstans is found in both the previously described areas of Africa and Latin America. Prevalence rates vary from a few percent to as much as 90% in areas like Trinidad, Guyana and Colombia (5).
Infection is more common and has a higher microfilarial dose with age (6), though studies have found microfilarial dose not to be correlated with symptoms (1). In parts of rural South America, men have been found more susceptible than women, possibly due to more outdoors work by males as children, and possibly due to cooking fires serving as deterrents to vectors for women who perform more domestic duties (6). One study in central Africa found M. perstans to be a much more common cause of filariasis symptoms compared to Loa loa and Wuchereria bancrofti (2).
Since most Mansonelliasis is asymptomatic, it has been considered a relatively minor filarial disease (1), and has a very low, if any, mortality (7), though there is little data to base estimates on.
Mansonelliasis Distribution
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