Mansonellosis: current perspectives.

Mansonellosis is a filarial disease caused by three species of filarial (nematode) parasites (, , and ) that use humans as their main definitive hosts. These parasites are transmitted from person to person by bloodsucking females from two families of flies (Diptera). Biting midges (Ceratopogonidae) transmit all three species of , but blackflies (Simuliidae) are also known to play a role in the transmission of in parts of Latin America.