Prevalence of filariasis in rural Puri, Orissa.

Prevalence of filariasis in 8 randomly selected villages of Puri district was studied. 782 persons were examined. The prevalence of microfilaria was found to be 7.3 per cent and the disease rate 9.5 per cent. The mf rate was higher in males (8.8 per cent) than the females (5.7 per cent) and similarly the disease rate were 10.6 per cent and 8.3 per cent respectively in the two sexes. The mf rate was considerably lower (4.6 per cent) in the population using mosquito nets regularly as compared to irregular users (8.2 per cent) and never users (9.0 per cent). Similarly persons with 'normal' clothing had lower mf rate (5.0 per cent) than than those using 'medium' clothing (7.6 per cent) and "minimum" clothing (8.9 per cent). The mf rate and disease rate correlate well (r = .65). The Culex quinquefasciatus Say constituted the main bulk (65 per cent) of mosquito collection in this area with a density of 17 per man hour.