Wuchereria

A type of tiny nematode worm which infests the lymph system, causing elephantiasis.


A genus of white threadlike parasitic worms that live in the lymphatic vessels. W. bancrofti is a tropical and subtropical species that causes elephantiasis, lymphangitis, and chyluria. The immature forms concentrate in the lungs during the day. At night they become more numerous in the blood vessels of the skin, from which they are taken up by bloodsucking mosquitoes, acting as carriers of the diseases they cause.


A genus of filarial worms of the class Nematoda, commonly found in the tropics.


 


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