A survey of filariasis among refugees in south Florida.

Between January 1981 and March 1982, a filariasis survey was conducted among 668 Haitian immigrants and 155 Southeast Asian refugees residing in Florida, U.S.A. Microfilariae were detected only in Haitians, with 6.7% positive for Wuchereria bancrofti and 1.3% positive for Mansonella ozzardi. The majority of individuals with bancroftian filariasis came from five coastal urban areas including Port-au-Prince, Duvalierville, Gonaïves, Leógane and Cap-Haitien. No unequivocal signs of bancroftian filariasis or mansonellosis were seen. Membrane feeding of several species and strains of laboratory-reared mosquitoes on blood from a volunteer microfilaremic with W. bancrofti showed that Aedes aegypti and A. taeniorhynchus, but not Culex quinquefasciatus, were susceptible to infection with the Haitian strain of W. bancrofti. Culicoides furens, a known vector of M. ozzardi in Haiti and present in Florida, was not tested. Further studies are needed to determine the competence of Florida vectors for transmitting W. bancrofti and M. ozzardi to the indigenous human population.