elephantiasis

In medicine, a condition of local enlargement and deformity, most often of a leg, though the scrotum, vulva, or breast may also be affected. The commonest form of elephantiasis is the tropical variety (lymphatic filariasis) caused by infestation by parasitic roundworms (filaria); the enlargement is due to damage of the lymphatic system which impairs immunity. In 2002 there were approximately 120 million people infected worldwide, of whom 40 million were disfigured and considered incurable. The World Health Organization (WHO) aims to eradicate the disease by 2020.

The sufferer is susceptible to infection from bacteria and fungi, entering through skin splits. The swelling reduces dramatically if the affected area is kept rigorously clean and treated with antibiotic cream, combined with rest, after drug treatment has killed all filarial worms.