Loa loa filariasis is a skin and eye disease caused by the nematode worm Loa loa. Humans contract this disease through the bite of a deer fly or mango fly (Chrysops spp. ), the vectors for Loa loa. The adult Loa loa filarial worm migrates throughout the subcutaneous tissues of humans, occasionally crossing into subconjunctival tissues of the eye where it can be easily observed. Loa loa does not normally affect ones vision but can be painful when moving about the eyeball or across the bridge of the nose. The disease can cause red itchy swellings below the skin called "Calabar swellings". The disease is treated with the drug diethylcarbamazine (DEC), and when appropriate, surgical methods may be employed to remove adult worms from the conjunctiva. Loiasis belongs to the so-called neglected diseases. Signs and symptoms
A filariasis such as loiasis most often consists of asymptomatic microfilaremia. Some patients can develop lymphatic dysfunction causing lymphedema. Episodic angioedema (Calabar swellings) in the arms and legs, caused by immune reactions, are common. Calabar swellings are 3–10 cm in surface area, sometimes erythematous, and not pitting. When chronic, they can form cyst-like enlargements of the connective tissue around the sheaths of muscle tendons, becoming very painful when moved. The swellings may last for one to three days and may be accompanied by localized urticaria (skin eruptions) and pruritus (itching). They reappear at referent locations at irregular time intervals.
A biphasic fever is more often seen in children compared to adults. The first fever arrives with the onset of general constitutional symptoms, and the second accompanying the onset of the neurological symptoms.Symptoms can vary depending on the virus responsible for infection. Enteroviral meningitis (the most common cause) typically presents with the classic headache, photophobia, fever, nausea, vomiting, and nuchal rigidity. With coxsackie and echo virus specifically, a maculopapular rash may be present, or even the typical vesicles seen with Herpangina. Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) can be differentiated from the common presenting meningeal symptoms by the appearance of a prodromal influenza-like sickness about 10 days before other symptoms begin. Mumps meningitis can present similarly to isolated mumps, with possible parotid and testicular swelling. Interestingly, research has shown that HSV-2 meningitis most often occurs in people with no history of genital herpes, and that a severe frontal headache is among the most common presenting symptoms. Patients with varicella zoster meningitis may present with herpes zoster (Shingles) in conjunction with classic meningeal signs. Meningitis can be an indication that an individual with HIV is undergoing seroconversion, the time when the human body is forming antibodies in response to the virus. Causes
The most common causes of viral meningitis in the United States are non-polio enteroviruses. The viruses that cause meningitis are typically acquired from sick contacts.