Wuchereria bancrofti microfilaraemia in children in relation to parental infection status

A total of 946 families with 2302 children was surveyed for microfilaraemia due to Wuchereria bancrofti. The prevalence of microfilaraemia among offspring born to microfilaraemic parents was significantly higher than in those born to amicrofilaraemic parents (P=0.0049; relative risk=3.40). However, there was no statistically significant difference between the prevalence of microfilaraemia in children born to microfilaraemic mothers or microfilaraemic fathers, suggesting that parental (not only maternal) infection is the important risk factor, and it may be exposure within the household which is important. Logistic regression analyses also confirmed that the risk of infection for offspring born to either microfilaraemic mothers or microfilaraemic fathers was higher than that for offspring born to amicrofilaraemic parents and indicated that infection in children less than or equal to 20 years old was primarily dependent on parental infection status and minimally influenced by factors other than household exposure.