Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Development Of A Rt-Pcr-Elisa Wuchereria Bancrofti Detection Assay For The Monitoring Of Mosquito Vector Infection And Infectivity, Nompumelelo Mzizi Mzizi

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Lymphatic filariasis (LF) is an incapacitating disease caused by three filarial nematodes belonging to the family Onchocercidae, namely Brugia timori, Wuchereria bancrofti and Brugia timori. An estimated 90% of lymphatic filariasis cases globally are caused by Wuchereria bancrofti. To evaluate the success of the Global Program to eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis it is essential to monitor the frequency of larval infection in the mosquito vector. Molecular methods to detect Wuchereria bancrofti DNA in mosquitoes have been in existence since 1996. However these methods have not been widely adopted due to the high cost associated with them and the inability …