Studies with Brugia pahangi—II. The effect of repeated infection on parasite levels in cats

Immune responses in human infections with Brugia malayi: specific cellular unresponsiveness to filarial antigens.

“…The finding that patients with elephantiasis to a certain extent regain the ability to react with microfilarial and adult worm antigens suggests that the state of immune suppression in filariasis is reversible and that microfilariae may be the cause of the immunesuppression. Repeated exposure to infective third-stage larvae can result in the elimination of microfilariae from the blood of experimentally infected animals (14,15). The serum of these "cured" animals contains antimicrofilarial antibodies that cannot usually be demonstrated in the serum of animals that remain microfilaremic (16).…”

A Comprehensive, Model-Based Review of Vaccine and Repeat Infection Trials for Filariasis

“…Patency commences at 53 to 94 days p.i., increases over the first year, and plateaus at 1 year p.i. in repeatedly infected cats (72,73). While MF levels in repeatedly infected cats are variable, ranging from 50 to 40,000 MF/ml, almost all infected cats develop microfilaremia (73).…”

“…Ninety-six percent of cats experimentally infected with B. pahangi become microfilaremic (72). Male and female cats are equally susceptible to infection, with an average of 8 to 25% of injected larvae surviving to adulthood (73)(74)(75).…”

“…At 20 days p.i., larvae migrate down the afferent lymphatic, where they undergo their final molt at 24 to 33 days p.i. (73,74,76). Patency commences at 53 to 94 days p.i., increases over the first year, and plateaus at 1 year p.i.…”

“…in repeatedly infected cats (72,73). While MF levels in repeatedly infected cats are variable, ranging from 50 to 40,000 MF/ml, almost all infected cats develop microfilaremia (73). Transfusion of MF into naive cats demonstrated that MF live for a median of 46 days (range, 2 to 136 days) (77).…”