Voice 1: Male and female worms mate inside a person's body. The female worm releases many larvae, or baby worms, into a person's lymphatic system. The lymphatic system is part of the immune system. It helps a person to fight sickness. The lymphatic system is made up of two main parts: the vessels and the nodes. The vessels are tubes that spread through a person's body. The nodes are like little balls connected to the vessels. When the baby worms enter the lymphatic system, it becomes infected. The worms cause these areas to fill up with fluid. The name Lymphatic Filariasis comes from these two parts. Lymphatic means the lymphatic system. Filariasis comes from the word filaria. This is the scientific word for worms.
Voice 2: Over one hundred twenty million people in eighty countries suffer from Lymphatic Filariasis. The disease affects people in different ways. Some people's legs grow large like Antoinette's leg. But more often, the disease affects men's sexual organs. Many people are not comfortable talking about how the disease affects men. Some men lie about their problem. They do not want to admit that they have a disease.