Filariasis is one of the Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) known to be of serious public health importance and pose devastating socioeconomic burden especially among the poor people in tropical and subtropical countries of the world. The parasite is responsible for lymphatic fi lariasis affecting about 1.3 billion people in 72 countries worldwide. The major parasitic agents of the infection are three closely related nematodes of clade Onchocercidae namely Wuchereria bancrofti, Brugia malayi and B. timori that are transmitted to human through bites by mosquitoes of genera: Aedes, Anopheles, Culex and Mansonia. The disease is targeted by the World Health Organization (WHO) for elimination by 2020 through the use of chemically synthesized drugs used as therapeutic agents to cure the disease but there are some setbacks. Phytochemical extracts are viewed as alternative therapy in the management of the disease. Additionally, the species have many ecological variants and are diversifi ed in terms of their genetic fi ngerprint. This diversifi cation in terms of genomic sequences as well as rapid infection rate warrant the lymphatic fi larial parasites to respond differently to diagnostic and therapeutic interventions. Thus understanding the genomic diversity of the parasite will help in effi cient therapeutic management of the disease, thereby eliminating it to prevent unnecessary suffering and contribute to the reduction of poverty. In this review, we have highlighted on the used for phytochemical extracts in the therapeutic management of the lymphatic and the molecular genetic diversity of the parasite was delineated.

The search for bioactive plants which can be used as non-conventional anthelmintics has received considerable attention in recent times because of the increasing, worldwide development of resistance to synthetic anthelminthes worm populations. However, scientific evidence to validate the use of raw plants materials remain limited. This study evaluated the mortality and inhibitory effects of the crude aqueous and methanolic extract of Artemisia annua L. against the shedding of cercariae of Schistosoma mansoni from Biomphalaria pfeifferi. The phytochemical screening of the plant was done using standard procedure, after which the mortality effects of the plant extracts and effects on the shedding of cercariae from B. pfeifferi snails were assessed for 24 hour of exposure. Methanolic extract with the highest concentration of 1.77mg/µL had an inhibitory effect of 63.06±1.84 while the least concentration with 0.12mg/µL had 22.41±2.17 inhibitory effect. For the aqueous extract, the highest concentration with 2.73mg/µL had an inhibitory effect of  55.75±1.94 while the least concentration of 0.23mg/µL had 21.80±1.45. Inhibitory effect of cercariae in the snail vector was  concentration dependent, and there was significance difference (P<0.05) between the treatment mean when compared with the control group. This study has shown that this plant material has some inhibitory effect on the shedding of of S. mansoni cercariae and toxicityeffect on the B. pfeifferisnails, and can therefore be used for the control of the disease causing agent as well as the vector. Keywords: Artemisia annua, Inhibitory effects, cercariae, Biomphalaria pfeifferi