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A 72-year-old man lived for almost twenty years with a permanent semi-erection. An uncomfortable situation to say the least, which the doctors ended up explaining.
A 72-year-old man lived for seventeen years with persistent swelling of the leg, scrotum, and penis. So much so that it gave him a form of semi-permanent erection, without understanding where these symptoms were coming from.
A parasitic infection responsible for his condition
While he was hospitalized, the doctors noticed the man’s state of health and the swellings in his anatomy. After years of diagnostic wandering, the specialists finally explained to him what was happening to him: a parasitic infection was responsible for his condition.
Fluid was building up in his leg and private parts, causing swelling that would not subside with pressure. Scrotal and penile edema were also diagnosed in the old man.
Tests allow precise diagnosis
Various tests were carried out on this patient, which made it possible to make a diagnosis. This is a parasitosis caused by filarial worms and transmitted by mosquito bites. These worms, which we call nematodes, are microscopic in size and therefore invisible to the naked eye.
They invaded the man’s lymphatic system, causing these swellings and chronic lymphatic filariasis. An infection that the patient probably contracted in Zimbabwe, a country where he lived twenty years previously.
What is lymphatic filariasis?
Lymphatic filariasis is a “neglected tropical disease”, commonly known as elephantiasis. As in malaria, parasites are transmitted by mosquito bites, transferred into the bloodstream, and then directed to the lymphatic system, the functions of which they alter. They have a lifespan of approximately 6 to 8 years and, during their life, produce millions of microfilariae (immature larvae) which circulate in the blood.
The infection process is described by the World Health Organization: “Mosquitoes become infested with microfilariae when they bite an infected host and ingest its blood. The microfilariae develop inside the mosquito until they become infective larvae. When a new person is bitten by the infected mosquito, the mature larvae of the parasite are deposited on their skin and can then enter their body. body. The larvae then migrate to the lymphatic vessels where they mature, thus perpetuating the transmission cycle.“.
“When lymphatic filariasis becomes chronic, it leads to lymphedema (tissue swelling), limb elephantiasis (thickening of the skin and tissues), or hydrocele (scrotal swelling). The breasts and genitals are frequently affected” adds the WHO.
For her it would be “possible to eliminate lymphatic filariasis by stopping the spread of infection through chemoprevention” via antibiotic treatment protocols.
Remember that across the world, 25 million men suffered from hydrocele and more than 15 million people suffered from lymphedema, with these symptoms persisting in 36 million people. The 72-year-old patient is therefore not an isolated case.
Other unusual cases have recently hit the headlines
In December 2022, the New England Journal of Medicine echoed another unusual case. In New Delhi, India, a 26-year-old man decided to consult for severe pain felt in his right testicle. Taken care of, he underwent an ultrasound as required. If the examination is not unusual, the result, however, really surprised the doctors. Ultrasound reveals “linear structures (in the process of) moving” in the young man’s scrotum.
A puncture and a microscopic examination make it possible to identify those responsible for this image: a horde of living worms, scientifically named Wuchereria bancrofti, the origin of another case of elephantiasis. To find out more about this case, discover our article “He consults for testicular pain, doctors find worms dancing in his scrotum”.
Slide: What you didn’t know about the penis