FILARIAL WORMS
(Microscopic Nematodes that are pathogenic to humans)
Rev. Oct. 2026

The Filarial Worms, also known as Filariae or tissue Nematodes (of the Filarioidea superfamily) seems to be another of those pathogens that some laboratories, in Florida, are not capable or willing to find in blood or sputum samples. But I have found them in my blood and in my sputum. Therefore I know that it is possible to find them in an unfixed and unstained blood or sputum  microscope slide. However, it's not easy. The blood sample must be fresh, with no chemicals added to it, unfixed and unstained. The sputum must also be unstained and with no chemicals added to it. And the microscopist must have sufficient patience, to carefully look at the complete slide (not just a few areas).

The vectors (carriers or intermediate hosts) of these microscopic nematodes are blood sucking arthropods, usually mosquitoes.

All it takes, is a mosquito byte, to get microfilariae into your blood. And it might take years before you develop any symptoms. And the doctors will treat the symptoms, not knowing what is causing the symptoms, because the laboratories are not detecting the microfilariae. And the symptoms can vary, depending on the size of the microfilariae population, the species of the microfilariae, and what area of the body they are affecting.

These are the scientific names (& common names in parenthesis) of the Microfilariaes that can infect humans:
  Wuchereria Bancrofti (Bancroft's filaria),
  Loa Loa (eye worm),
  Brugia malayi (malayan filaria),
  Mansonella persans,
  Mansonella streptocerca,
  Onchocerca volvulus (blinding filaria).

In Central America & Africa, the black fly (Simulium) is known to carry Onchocerca volvulus. The Anopheles & Mansonia mosquitoes are known to carry Brugia malayi.
The Culex, Aedes, and Anopheles mosquitoes are known to carry Wuchereria Bancrofti.

Adult female Filariaes, do not lay eggs (like most nematodes). Instead, they give birth to live baby microfilarieas, and those adult females can produce thousands of microfilariaes every day.

Doxycycline (brand names: Vibramycin and Dorix) can kill most of the microfilariaes, but can not kill the adult Filariaes. In fact, no known medicine can kill the adult Filariaes that can hide in the lymphatic system or in the capilaries of the lungs and/or the capilaries of the heart. Adult Filariaes have a live span of about 10 years.

Ivermectin kills the microfilariaes and prevents new microfilariaes from leaving the uteri of the adult females.

I am showing, in this Web page, links to some micrographs and a microvideo that shows some of the Microfilariaes (or some other similar microscopic nematode) that I have found in microscope slides made from my blood and my sputum. However, I have not been able to identify their species.

The following small images are links to the larger micrographs, if you select them (by pressing the select button on your mouse or track ball, or if using a touch screen, touch them) it will show you the larger micrographs.

FROM SPUTUM:








FROM BLOOD:

  


  

   


     

   


Bellow is a 1 minute microvideo, at 400x, of a microfilariae found in a sputum slide.



I have seem this microscopic nematodes, in the blood, as far back as 2020.
However, I first saw them, in sputum, in 2026, while looking for mold and bacteria, due to an acute pulmonary infection caused by bacteria and 3 types of molds (fungus).

REFERENCES:

Paniker's Textbook of MEDICAL PARASITOLOGY   (8th Edition)
MEDICAL PARASITOLOGY A Self-Instructional Text (7th Edition)
CLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY Made Ridiculously Simple.  (6th Edition)

RETURN to PORTALS