Impact of Lymphatic Filariasis on Married Women from Rural Areas of Bankura District, West Bengal, India

Abstract

In third world countries like India, women play a vital role in building and maintaining the family and the society. Lymphatic Filariasis (LF) among married women may inflict a deep impact on the society. Present study was focused to study the impact of LF on married women of some rural areas of Bankura district in West Bengal, India. Night blood-samples of 1202 married women were examined to detect the presence of microfilariae. They were examined clinically and also asked for any hidden filarial manifestation. Affected subjects were also interrogated to understand the impact of LF on their lives. Microfilaria rate, mean microfilaria density and disease rate among the married women of the area were assessed as 6.16%, 10.89% and 11.98% respectively. 95.83% of the diseased subjects were of opinion that the disease had imposed some or many adverse effects on their lives. The diseased women suffer from disability, loss of efficiency and social stigma. They are often neglected and abstain themselves from intimating their problems to the family members and seeking help for various reasons. Awareness level is poor and presumably the situation is same in the rural areas of other under developed and developing countries.