[DaFuq???]

How could I resist on a thread like this?
azimuth, this body condom's for you!

[DaFuq???]

Loa loa filariasis (also known as loiasis, loaiasis, Calabar swellings, Fugitive swelling, Tropical swelling and African eyeworm) is a skin and eye disease caused by the nematode worm, Loa loa. Humans contract this disease through the bite of a Deer fly or Mango fly (Chrysops spp), the vectors for Loa loa. The adult Loa loa filarial worm migrates throughout the subcutaneous tissues of humans, occasionally crossing into subconjunctival tissues of the eye where it can be easily observed. Loa loa does not normally affect one's vision but can be painful when moving about the eyeball or across the bridge of the nose.
The disease can cause red itchy swellings below the skin called "Calabar swellings". The disease is treated with the drug diethylcarbamazine (DEC), and when appropriate, surgical methods may be employed to remove adult worms from the conjunctiva.

Signs and symptoms:
Filariasis such as loiasis most often consists of asymptomatic microfilaremia. Some patients develop lymphatic dysfunction causing lymphedema. Episodic angioedema (Calabar swellings) in the arms and legs, caused by immune reactions are common. Calabar swellings are 3-10 cm in surface non erythematous and not pitting. When chronic, they can form cyst-like enlargements of the connective tissue around the sheaths of muscle tendons, becoming very painful when moved. The swellings may last for 1–3 days, and may be accompanied by localized urticaria (skin eruptions) and pruritus (itching). They reappear at referent locations at irregular time intervals. Subconjunctival migration of an adult worm to the eyes can also occur frequently, and this is the reason Loa loa is also called the "African eye worm." The passage over the eyeball can be sensed, but it usually takes less than 15 min. Gender incidence of eyeworms have approximately the same frequency, but it tends to increase with age. Eosinophilia is often prominent in filarial infections. Dead worms may cause chronic abscesses, which may lead to the formation of granulomatous reactions and fibrosis.

In the human host, Loa loa larvae migrate to the subcutaneous tissue where they mature to adult worms in approximately one year, but sometimes up to four years. Adult worms migrate in the subcutaneous tissues at a speed less than 1cm/min, mating and producing more microfilaria. The adult worms can live up to 17 years in the human host.

Transmission:
Loa loa infective larvae (L3) are transmitted to humans by deer fly vectors, Chrysops silica and C. dimidiata. The vectors are blood-sucking and day-biting, and they are found in rainforest-like environments in west and central Africa. Infective larvae (L3) mature to adults (L5) in the subcutaneous tissues of the human host, after which the adult worms—assuming presence of a male and female worm—mate and produce microfilaria. The cycle of infection continues when a non-infected mango or deer fly takes a blood meal from a microfilaremic human host, and this stage of the transmission is possible due to the combination of the diurnal periodicity of microfilaria and the day-biting tendencies of the Chrysops spp.

Reservoir:
Humans are the primary reservoir for Loa loa. Other minor potential reservoirs have been indicated in various fly biting habit studies: hippopotamus, wild ruminants (e.g., buffalo), rodents, and lizards. A simian type of loiasis exists in monkeys and apes but it is transmitted by Chrysops langi. There is no cross-over between the human and simian types of the disease.

Chrysops spp are small (5–20 mm long) with a large head and downward pointing mouthparts. Their wings are clear or speckled brown. They are hematophagous and typically live in forested and muddy habitats like swamps, streams, reservoirs, and in rotting vegetation. Female mango and deerflies require a blood meal for production of a second batch of eggs. This batch is deposited near water, where the eggs hatch in 5–7 days. The larvae mature in water or soil, where they feed on organic material such as decaying animal and vegetable products.
Fly larvae are 1–6 cm long and take 1–3 years to mature from egg to adult. When fully mature, C. silacea and C. dimidiata assume the day-biting tendencies of all tabanids.

The bite of the mango fly can be very painful, possibly due to the laceration style employed; rather than puncturing the skin like a mosquito does, the mango (and deerfly) make a laceration in the skin and subsequently lap up blood. Female flies require a fair amount of blood for their aforementioned reproductive purposes and thus may take multiple blood meals from the same host if disturbed during the first one.

Interestingly, although Chrysops silacea and C. dimidiata are attracted to canopied rainforests, they do not do their biting there. Instead, they leave the forest and take most blood meals in open areas. The flies are attracted to smoke from wood fires and they use visual cues and sensation of carbon dioxide plumes to find their preferred host, humans.

A study of Chrysops spp biting habits showed that C. silacea and C. dimidiata take human blood meals approximately 90% of the time, with hippopatomus, wild ruminant, rodent, and lizard blood meals making up the other 10%. The fact that no simian (ex: monkeys or apes) blood meals were taken suggests that there is no crossover between the human and simian types of Loa loa.


Life cycle:
The vector for Loa loa filariasis are flies from two hematophagous species of the genus Chrysops (deer flies), C. silacea and C. dimidiata. During a blood meal, an infected fly (genus Chrysops, day-biting flies) introduces third-stage filarial larvae onto the skin of the human host, where they penetrate into the bite wound. The larvae develop into adults that commonly reside in subcutaneous tissue. The female worms measure 40 to 70 mm in length and 0.5 mm in diameter, while the males measure 30 to 34 mm in length and 0.35 to 0.43 mm in diameter. Adults produce microfilariae measuring 250 to 300 μm by 6 to 8 μm, which are sheathed and have diurnal periodicity. Microfilariae have been recovered from spinal fluids, urine, and sputum. During the day they are found in peripheral blood, but during the noncirculation phase, they are found in the lungs. The fly ingests microfilariae during a blood meal. After ingestion, the microfilariae lose their sheaths and migrate from the fly's midgut through the hemocoel to the thoracic muscles of the arthropod. There the microfilariae develop into first-stage larvae and subsequently into third-stage infective larvae. The third-stage infective larvae migrate to the fly's proboscis and can infect another human when the fly takes a blood meal.

[DaFuq???]

The Loa-loa worm:

[DaFuq???]

Surgical removal of an 8 inch Loa-loa worm (believed to be the largest to date):

[twayblade]

eww.

[DaFuq???]

Candiru (English and Portuguese or candirú in Spanish), Vandellia cirrhosa, also known as cañero, toothpick fish, or vampire fish, is a species of parasitic freshwater catfish in the family Trichomycteridae native to the Amazon Basin where it is found in the countries of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.

Although some candiru species have been known to grow to a size of 40 centimetres (16 in) in length, others are considerably smaller. These smaller species are known for an alleged tendency to invade and parasitise the human urethra; however, despite ethnological reports dating back to the late 19th century, the first documented case of the removal of a candiru from a human urethra did not occur until 1997, and even that incident has remained a matter of controversy.

Description:
Candirus are small fish. Adults can grow to around 40 centimetres (16 in) with a rather small head and a belly that can appear distended, especially after a large blood meal. The body is translucent, making it quite difficult to spot in the turbid waters of its home. There are short sensory barbels around the head, together with short, backward pointing spines on the gill covers.

Location:
Candiru inhabit the Amazon and Orinoco basins of lowland Amazonia, where they constitute part of the Neotropical fish fauna. Candirus are hematophagous and parasitize the gills of larger Amazonian fishes, especially catfish of the family Pimelodidae.

[Zambini]

Ok, that's it.

I'm never eating food, touching another person or leaving my house again.

Thanks Obama!

[DaFuq???]

.

[DaFuq???]

Originally Posted by Zambini ↗

Ok, that's it.

I'm never eating food, touching another person or leaving my house again.

Thanks Obama!

Well damn...does this mean I'll never get to slow dance with you, Zambini?
Oh, you heartbreaker!

[T2]

Just like a bad car accident, I can't look away. Lol. Nasty little critters they are.