Imagine waking up one day to excruciating pain in your leg and finding the limb has swollen to three times its size. There is no school textbook, family member or prayer that has ever prepared you for such a moment in your life. With no knowledge about what caused the unsightly swelling, you spend the next 40 years of your life searching for a cure, or for that matter relief of any kind.
LIVING IN THE DARK:
Filariasis is still believed to be caused by generational curses, moral failure or caste, instead of the real reason: parasitic roundworms carried by infected mosquitoes. The larvae of the worm is deposited onto human skin when the mosquito bites, and over time they enter the skin and migrate to the lymphatic vessels where they develop into adults. The initial infection is usually asymptomatic and one can live with the worm for years before visible symptoms emerge. Over time though, the damage done to the lymphatic system begins to show through swelling in areas where lymph nodes are found.
The disease is also tricky to diagnose. “The larval worms are nocturnal and can only be detected through microscopic examination of blood samples taken at night.
The WHO recognizes LF as a neglected tropical disease (NTD) and a global health priority. The latest data from 2023 shows that 6,19,000 cases of LF-related lymphoedema (swelling from fluid buildup due to blocked lymph vessels) and 1,27,000 hydrocele (swelling in the scrotum) were reported nationwide across endemic districts.
“The disease occurs in geographical pockets and so locals believe the condition is genetic or hereditary, not realizing it is the same infected strain of mosquitoes biting them all.”
FINDING A PURPOSE:
Moreover, the patient support group have resulted in something even more powerful than the reduction in LF transmission rates. They have given new life and hope to those who have pent much of their lives trying to survive the disease.
These victims of filariasis never thought they would ever be able to run up a flight of stairs, gain respect from their peers or find empathy from their communities. Today, they are people who walk with purpose and conviction instead of looking down upon their bodies to find pain and horror. Transformed, they are determined to offer the same fate for others.
