Discovery of lymphatic filariasis during a humanitarian aid mission to Burkina Faso

Lymphatic filariasis affects 120 million persons worldwide, a third of whom live in Africa. It is caused by threadlike parasitic worms transmitted to humans by the bite of mosquitoes which are vectors of the disease. One of the effects resulting from a mosquito bite affecting a lower limb is the occurrence of lymphedema. When the latter becomes massive, it is known as elephantiasis. The purpose of the December 2009 aid mission was to treat patients with this disease by using compression therapy. Also, it was planned to study, in cooperation with the local health authorities, the possible setting up of a specific care facility to train nurses in the different methods of compression therapy, which remarkably is missing from the therapeutic arsenal in Burkina Faso. These nurses would care for the many patients affected: over 150 identified in 2000 in the city of Kaya alone, without counting cases of hydrocele, and involvement of the upper limbs, genital organs, and breasts.