MANSONELLAMANSONELLA PERSTANSMANSONELLA STREPTOCERCAMANSONELLA OZZARDI

Members of the genus Mansonella are filarial nematodes which rarely cause serious disease.  However, they can be found in geographical areas where Wuchereria bancrofti, Loa loa and Onchocerca volvulus also occur and therefore must be differentiated from these pathogenic microfilariae.  Unlike the pathogenic blood filariae, they do not exhibit periodicity.  

MANSONELLA STREPTOCERCA

• ADULTSAdults that reside in the dermis, most commonly less than 1 mm from the skin surface• SIZESFemales: 27 mm in length; diameter is 50 µ m at the level of the vulva (anteriorly) ad ovaries (near the posterior end), and up to 85 µ m at the mid-bodyMales: 50 µ in diameter• MICROFILARIAUnsheated and non-periodicMeasures 180-240 µ m by 3-5 µ m, which reside in the skin but can also reach the peripheral blood

MANIFESTATIONS

• Mansonella streptocercaCan cause skin manifestations including pruritus, papular eruptions ang pigmental changesEosinophilia is often prominent in filarial infections

DIAGNOSIS

• Examination of skin snaps will identify microfilariae of Mansonella streptocerca