of the worms in mosquitoes. manson incorrectly hypothesized that the disease was transmitted through skin contact with water in which the mosquitoes had laid eggs. in 1900, george carmichael low determined the actual transmission method by discovering the presence of the worm in the proboscis of the mosquito vector. many people in malabar, nayars as well as brahmans and their wives – in fact about a quarter or a fifth of the total population, including the people of the lowest castes – have very large legs, swollen to a great size; and they die of this, and it is an ugly thing to see. they say that this is due to the water through which they go, because the country is marshy. this is called pericaes in the native language, and all the swelling is the same from the knees downward, and they have no pain, nor do they take any notice of this infirmity.— portuguese diplomat tomé pires, suma oriental, 1512–1515. research directions researchers at the university of illinois at chicago (uic) have developed a novel vaccine for the prevention of lymphatic filariasis. this vaccine has been shown to elicit strong, protective immune responses in mouse models of lymphatic filariasis infection. the immune response elicited by this vaccine has been demonstrated to be protective against both w. bancrofti and b. malayi infection in the mouse model and may prove useful in the human. on 20 september 2007, geneticists published the first draft of the complete genome (genetic content) of brugia malayi, one of the roundworms which causes lymphatic filariasis. this project had been started in 1994 and by 2000, 80% of the genome had been determined. determining the content of the genes might lead to the development of new drugs and vaccines. veterinary disease onchocerca ochengi causes lymphatic filariasis in cattle.