Elephantiasis << `ehl` uh fuhn TY uh sihs >> is a skin disease that is most common in the tropics. It gets its name because the affected skin becomes rough and thickened like the hide of an elephant. A tiny worm called the filaria usually causes the disease (see Filaria). Mosquitoes carry the worm. When the mosquito bites, the worm enters the body and eventually lodges in the lymph vessels. The disease is also called lymphatic filariasis. A less common form of elephantiasis is caused by the streptococcus bacterium.
Elephantiasis is characterized by fever, roughening of the skin, and swelling of a part of the body, often the leg. There usually is a series of attacks, each increasing the swelling of the affected part. The disease is curable in early stages. However, once the part becomes permanently enlarged, there is no known cure. Drugs and surgery may give relief.
