The Default Condition Of Dirofilariasis In Humans

Once the arthropod vector deposits the L3 stage filaria on the surface of the skin of a host, they try to locate the incision into the skin and crawl into that wound. Once inside the host they start producing secretomes containing mRNA which are pulled into the surrounding cells and manufacture compounds needed to alter the hosts own immune response to the invader.

In about two weeks time the L3 stage filaria will have molted and changed into the L4 stage adult and will enter the bloodstream by way of a local vein in its surrounding tissue. Upon doing this small step they have now entered the occult stage of the infection.

Occult Infection (n)An infection first recognized by secondary manifestations—e.g., increased neutrophils in the circulation or fever of unknown origin

Since there is no test for this disease in humans, and there are no clear external signs of it once the initial swelling and festering of the wound subsides, it logically falls under this “occult” medical definition, but there is not one medical textbook we have found that even speak about this process.

There will be numerous changes to the host immune system and many systemic changes or to internal organs and other biological processes, but nothing will stand out directly as a primary indicator that a person is infected with Dirofilariasis. This is the same situation in as as much as 80% of all felines infected with the very same disease, but they do have a test for the disease and therefor do get treated on a regular basis. The difference here is that cats can be dissected to find the cause of disease and this is not regularly done in the case of humans unless murder is actually suspected. Even then nobody suspects a disease that is not even on the public radar. If you don’t look for something you will not likely find it.

Humans do not have any validated medical test for the same disease. Humans do not get diagnosed with this disease except in very extreme cases where the adult filaria migrates to a place that causes complications which are visible to a physician. When they do get diagnosed, that one filaria may be extricated and that patient then be declared cured of the disease. However they still could have many more that are still unseen and undiagnosed. Without a serological test this problem will never change.

What is noteworthy in this process is that all other diagnosable forms of Dirofilariasis except for the cutaneous nodule, all require there to be an occult infection in order for that individual filaria to migrate to that specific location. You can not get a subcutanious, ocular, or pulmonary manifestation unless the filaria could first have a way to travel to that location. The vascular system is the superhighway for Dirofilaria where they travel completely unseen by any physician.

This is the default condition in humans.