A Study on Profile of Patients Attending a Filaria Clinic at Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh

Case records of 200 patients Attending the filaria clinic at National Centre for Disease Control, Rajahmundry, and Andhra Pradesh were analyzed to study some epidemiological and clinical profiles. When compared with an earlier study at the same centre it was observed that there was a drop in patients hailing from urban areas and an increase from rural areas. It was found that majority (95%) of patients attended the clinic from the twin Godavari districts of Andhra Pradesh, mostly females (67.5%) above the age of 15 years (99%), house wives by occupation and majority (41%) illiterate followed by education up to primary level (35.5%). Amongst most common clinical manifestations, 92.5% of the patients had swelling in the lower limbs with a slight preponderance for the left side. Hydrocele and other genital manifestations were uncommon. All the 200 subjects under study were found to be negative for microfilaria in their peripheral blood smears. There has been no appreciable change in the findings of the present study when compared with the earlier study findings. Coverage of MDA was not satisfactory and there is an urgent need to streamline MDA for effective interruption of transmission.