GUINEA WORM DISEASE:
Guinea worm disease is a parasitic worm infection that occurs mainly in Africa. Guinea worm disease is caused by Dracunculus medinensis, a threadlike parasitic worm that grows and matures in people. More than half of all cases of Guinea worm disease are reported from southern Sudan. Other countries with more than 1,000 cases each year are Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Niger, Ghana, Mali, Uganda, Togo, Benin, and Ivory Coast. 20 years ago, over 3 million people suffered from the disease. New cases have dropped considerably since then.
Cause: People get infected when they drink standing water containing a tiny water flea that is infected with the even tinier larvae of the Guinea worm. Inside the human body, the larvae mature growing as long as 3 feet. After a year, the worm emerges through a painful blister in the skin causing long-term suffering.
Symptoms: A few days to hours before the worm emerges, the person might develop a fever and have swelling and pain. A blister develops and then opens into a wound. When the wound is immersed in water, the worm begins to emerge.
Sources
Directors of Health Promotion and Education on Guinea Worm Disease
Health on the Net Foundation on Guinea Worm Disease
Official website for Center for Disease Control and Prevention
Read more about communicable diseases in the current Monday Developments issue!
