Filarial antibodies and eosinophilia in human subjects in an endemic area

Abstract

Abstract Blood samples from 96 subjects from 5 villages in an area endemic for Malayan filariasis in Malaysia were examined for the presence of microfilariae, level of eosinophilia, and presence of antibodies to microfilariae and to infective larvae of Brugia malayi . Subjects were grouped according to clinical signs or symptoms attributable either to readily discernible filarial infections or to a form of occult filariasis generally known as “eosinophilic lung”. Certain patterns of antibody production were discernible in that humoral antimicrofilarial antibodies were found in all persons with elephantiasis and in smaller proportions of subjects in other groups, but not in subjects with microfilaraemia or chronic asthma. Antibodies against the infective larva were commonly found in all groups, most often in subjects with microfilaraemia, elephantiasis, and eosinophilia. The interrelationships between sensitization to filarial antigens in subjects with microfilaraemia, eosinophilia, and occult filariasis were discussed.