Filariasis in Japan some 25 years after its eradication.

Japan is said to have eradicated filariasis some 25 years ago, but the exact time (and even the definition of eradication) is not clear. However, the results of successful control programs clearly indicate that the number of microfilaria carriers had been reduced to a very low level long before the “eradication”. As filariasis disappeared, the once stigmatized disease quickly lost clinical significance. At the same time, the number of...