Cause
Human filarial nematode worms have complicated life cycles, which primarily consists of five stages. After the male and female worms mate, the female gives birth to live microfilariae by the thousands. The microfilariae are taken up by the vector insect (intermediate host) during a blood meal. In the intermediate host, the microfilariae molt and develop into third-stage (infective) larvae. Upon taking another blood meal, the vector insect, such as Culex pipiens, injects the infectious larvae into the dermis layer of the skin. After about one year, the larvae molt through two more stages, maturing into the adult worms. Diagnosis
Filariasis is usually diagnosed by identifying microfilariae on Giemsa stained, thin and thick blood film smears, using the "gold standard" known as the finger prick test. The finger prick test draws blood from the capillaries of the finger tip; larger veins can be used for blood extraction, but strict windows of the time of day must be observed. Blood must be drawn at appropriate times, which reflect the feeding activities of the vector insects. Examples are W. bancrofti, whose vector is a mosquito; night is the preferred time for blood collection. Loa loas vector is the deer fly; daytime collection is preferred. This method of diagnosis is only relevant to microfilariae that use the blood as transport from the lungs to the skin. Some filarial worms, such as M. streptocerca and O. volvulus, produce microfilariae that do not use the blood; they reside in the skin only.
In medicine, granulocytosis is the presence of an increased number of granulocytes in the peripheral blood. Often, the word refers to an increased neutrophil granulocyte count (neutrophilia), but granulocytosis formally refers to the combination of neutrophilia, eosinophilia, and basophilia. Leukocytosis refers to an increase in the number of all white blood cells. Causes
Granulocytosis can be a feature of a number of diseases, including:
Infection, especially bacterial
Malignancy, most notably leukemia (it is the main feature of chronic myelogenous leukemia, CML)
Autoimmune disease

Diagnosis
Diagnosis of granulocytosis is usually done by obtaining a complete blood count. Prognostic
In cardiovascular disease, increased white blood cell counts have been shown to indicate a worse prognosis. See also
Agranulocytosis
Bandemia
Complete blood count

References


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