Lymphatic Filariasis News and Research

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Lymphatic filariasis is a parasitic disease caused by microscopic, thread-like worms. The adult worms only live in the human lymph system. The lymph system maintains the body's fluid balance and fights infections. Lymphatic filariasis is spread from person to person by mosquitoes.

People with the disease can suffer from lymphedema and elephantiasis and in men, swelling of the scrotum, called hydrocele. Lymphatic filariasis is a leading cause of permanent disability worldwide. Communities frequently shun and reject women and men disfigured by the disease. Affected people frequently are unable to work because of their disability, and this harms their families and their communities.

PAHO and The Carter Center join hands on the elimination of onchocerciasis across the Americas

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and The Carter Center signed a Technical Cooperation Agreement today to strengthen collaboration on the elimination of onchocerciasis — also known as river blindness — and other communicable diseases in the Americas.

21 May 2026

WHO launches guide to address mental health and stigma for people living with NTDs

Marking World Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) Day, the World Health Organization (WHO) warns that millions of people living with NTDs continue to face profound and often unseen suffering due to discrimination, social stigma and untreated mental health conditions.

30 Jan 2026

Ending human bait practices in river blindness monitoring

New research shows that it's possible to end the practice of using people as 'human bait' to catch and test the blackflies that spread river blindness (onchocerciasis).

13 Nov 2025

Egypt achieves milestone in eliminating trachoma as a public health problem

The World Health Organization (WHO) today announced that Egypt has successfully eliminated trachoma as a public health problem, marking a historic public health milestone for the country and WHO's Eastern Mediterranean Region (WHO EMR). It is the seventh country in WHO EMR to achieve this milestone.

12 Nov 2025

Ivermectin mass treatment shows great promise in reducing malaria transmission

Ivermectin administered to the whole population significantly reduces malaria transmission, offering new hope in the fight against the disease.

24 Jul 2025

Burundi eliminates trachoma and sets example for disease control in Africa

The World Health Organization (WHO) has validated Burundi as having eliminated trachoma as a public health problem, making it the eighth country in WHO's African Region to reach this important milestone.

11 Jul 2025

Anti-parasitic drug could accelerate the elimination of infection endemic to Africa

Tens of millions of people in Africa are infected by parasitic worms that cause lymphatic filariasis (also called elephantiasis), a disease that leads to severe swelling and deformities of the limbs and genitals.

7 May 2025

Niger becomes first African country to eliminate onchocerciasis

The World Health Organization (WHO) congratulates Niger for having met the criteria for onchocerciasis elimination, making it the fifth country globally and the first country in Africa to be acknowledged by WHO for interrupting transmission of the parasite Onchocerca volvulus.

31 Jan 2025

Brazil achieves milestone in eliminating lymphatic filariasis

The World Health Organization (WHO) congratulates Brazil for having eliminated lymphatic filariasis as a public health problem.

1 Oct 2024

WHO's new SkinNTD app proves effective in training healthcare workers for neglected tropical diseases

The SkinNTD app, developed by the WHO, shows promise in training frontline healthcare workers in low- and middle-income countries to diagnose and manage neglected tropical diseases. Early evaluations in Ghana and Kenya indicate the app is user-friendly, effective, and valuable for remote areas.

20 May 2024

New collaboration to combat river blindness and lymphatic filariasis

Prof. Achim Hoerauf, Director of the Institute of Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology at the University Hospital Bonn (UKB), and his team have succeeded in collaborating with the Department of Pharmaceutical Technology and Biopharmacy at the University of Bonn and the Helmholtz Center for Infection Research (HZI), to enter into a partnership with the Japanese pharmaceutical company Eisai for the further development of the antibiotic corallopyronin A (CorA) as a treatment for the neglected tropical diseases river blindness and lymphatic filariasis and to raise a large amount of funding.

10 May 2024

University Hospital Bonn coordinates eWHORM project to combat worm infections in sub-Saharan Africa

African and European partners join forces to enable the World Health Organisation's (WHO) "Road Map for Neglected Tropical Diseases" (NTDs) and reduce the burden of disease associated with worm infections.

11 Apr 2023

Q&A: COVID-19 pandemic has widened gender inequities in health

Health inequalities facing women and girls, already stark before the onset of COVID-19, have widened glaringly during the pandemic. Lockdowns restricted access to sexual and reproductive health services, increased violence against women, and interrupted girls’ education.

9 May 2022

New drug targeting LF and onchocerciasis begins its first in human trial in Liverpool

A new drug developed by an LSTM led partnership, which targets the neglected tropical diseases lymphatic filariasis and onchocerciasis has begun its first in human trial.

6 Jan 2022

WHO and Sanofi sign new agreement to sustain specific efforts to eliminate NTDs

The World Health Organization (WHO) and Sanofi – one of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies – have signed a new agreement for donations of medicines to sustain specific efforts to eliminate neglected tropical diseases (NTDs).

16 Dec 2021

Researchers examine whether community administration of ivermectin influences malaria transmission

Researchers from the LSTM based Cochrane Infectious Disease Group explored whether community administration of ivermectin influences malaria transmission.

29 Jun 2021

Infrared thermal imaging camera can help monitor the progression of lymphatic filariasis

A paper published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine presents the results from a study which examined the use of an infrared thermal imaging camera as a novel non-invasive point-of-care tool for lymphatic filariasis lower-limb lymphoedema.

26 May 2021

WHO releases new strategy on water, sanitation and hygiene to end neglected tropical diseases

Today, on World Water Day, the World Health Organization (WHO) released its strategy on water, sanitation and hygiene as part of joint efforts by the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and the neglected tropical diseases (NTD) sectors towards ending these diseases over the next decade.

23 Mar 2021

New evidence supports ivermectin use in children weighing less than fifteen kilograms

Millions of children weighing less than 15kg are currently denied access to Ivermectin treatment due to insufficient safety data being available to support a change to the current label indication.

18 Mar 2021

Could Ivermectin be an effective antiviral against SARS-CoV-2?

A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial has recently demonstrated that Ivermectin, an anti-parasitic drug, can reduce in-hospital mortality rate of COVID-19 patients.

11 Jan 2021