Interesting facts about the Loa Loa

By: Hannah Pinchefsky & Kendall Bowman

Where does the young larva of the Loa Loa

develop in?They develop in horseflies.

Where can the loa loa go inside your body?Your eyes,

back, chest,

groin, and scalp.

What are the symptoms of having a loa loa in

your body?• Itching • Joint

pain• Fatigue• Death

What are the diagnosis and treatments?

• Diethylcarbamazine or Ivermectin

What is the life cycle?• A vector fly bites an infected human

host and ingests microfilariase• Microfilariae move to the thoracic

muscles of the insect host • Microfilariae develops into first stage

larva, then third stage larva• An infected vector fly bites an

uninfected human host and the third stage larva penetrates the skin and enters subcutaneous tissue

• Larva matures into adults who produce microfilariae