Parasite
Wuchereria bancrofti
Lymphatic filaria causing elephantiasis
voo-keh-REER-ee-uh ban-KROF-tye
High-yield clue
Sheathed microfilariae show nocturnal periodicity - best sampled from night blood - and chronic infection causes lymphedema/elephantiasis.
Overview
A mosquito-borne filarial nematode whose adults dwell in lymphatics, the leading study organism for lymphatic filariasis and chronic elephantiasis.
Classification
- Nematode (filarial worm)
- Adults reside in lymphatic vessels
- Sheathed microfilariae
- Transmitted by mosquitoes
Lab & identification clues
- Sheathed microfilariae on night (nocturnal) blood smear
- Giemsa-stained thick smear vocabulary
- Antigen detection concepts
Associations
- Mosquito vector transmission
- Nocturnal periodicity of microfilariae
- Lymphedema, elephantiasis, hydrocele vocabulary
- Tropical mass drug administration public-health framing
Commonly confused with
- Onchocerca volvulus
- Loa loa
Your notes
Original student-study summary. Sources checked: OpenStax Microbiology 2e, NCBI Bookshelf Medical Microbiology, and CDC topic pages where applicable; reviewed 2026-06. Educational only; no diagnosis, treatment, dosing, or specimen-handling guidance.