Zoonotic Brugia Filariasis in New England

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Three human infections with an animal filarial parasite of a Brugia sp. were identified in residents of New England [USA] over the past 2 yr. All patients were asymptomatic except for local, superficial lymphadenopathy. The diagnosis was established pathologically by the finding of immature worms in the biopsied lymph nodes. Peripheral blood eosinophilia was lacking; in 1 patient, no lymphocyte blastogenesis to filarial antigens and no antifilarial antibodies were detectable. These cases document a wider geographic range in the Northeast for this zoonosis, which had been previously recognized in 2 residents of the Middle-Atlantic states. The clinical and pathologic features resulting from the worm''s intralymphatic localization and the structure of the Brugia worm distinguish this entity from other zoonotic filarial infections.