Dracunculiasis, also known as Guinea worm disease (GWD), is an
infection caused by the parasite Dracunculus medinensis
. A parasite is an organism that feeds off another organism to survive. GWD is spread by drinking water containing Guinea worm larvae.
How can we prevent Guinea worm disease?
Prevention. No vaccine exists against Guinea worm, but the disease can be completely prevented by
ensuring safe drinking water
and not allowing the adult worms to disperse their larvae. The best way to prevent infection is to drink water only from uncontaminated water sources, like hand-dug wells and boreholes.
Where is Guinea worm disease found?
Guinea worm disease, a neglected tropical disease (NTD), is caused by the parasite Dracunculus medinensis. The disease affects poor communities
in remote parts of Africa
that do not have safe water to drink.
Can you die from Guinea worm disease?
| Dracunculiasis | Deaths Rare |
|---|
How long can a guinea worm grow?
These adults are
60-100 centimeters (2-3 feet) long
and as wide as a cooked spaghetti noodle. When the adult female worm is ready to come out, it creates a blister on the skin anywhere on the body, but usually on the legs and feet.
Where is Guinea worm most common?
When The Carter Center began to provide technical and financial assistance to national eradication programs in 1986, Guinea worm disease was found in 20 countries in
Africa
and Asia. Today the disease remains in six countries, all in Africa: Sudan, Ghana, Mali, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Niger.
Are guinea worms painful?
When the adult female worm comes out of the skin,
it can be very painful
, take time to remove, and be disabling. Often, the wound caused by the emerging worm develops a secondary bacterial infection. This makes the pain worse and can increase the time an infected person is unable to function from weeks to months.
Which disease is caused by worms?
Infections caused by roundworms are fairly common.
Ascariasis is
the most common roundworm infection. About 10 percent of the developing world is infected with intestinal worms, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
What happens if a guinea worm breaks?
If the worm breaks during removal it can
cause intense inflammation as the remaining part of
the dead worm starts to degrade inside the body. This causes more pain, swelling, and cellulitis
[ 1 , 2 ]
.
What is the survival rate of guinea worm disease?
Although the death rate is low, disability is a common outcome of guinea worm disease. Patients often have difficulty moving around because of pain as well as complications from secondary bacterial infections. While disability normally
lasts 8.5 weeks on average
, it can sometimes be permanent.
How long can a human have worms?
Adult worms can live up to 7 years in a person’s lymph system
. The disease only spreads from person to person through mosquitoes. When a mosquito bites an infected person, they can spread the tiny worms to other people they bite.
How do humans get rid of worms?
Common treatments for a roundworm infection include
mebendazole (Vermox, Emverm) and albendazole (Albenza)
. Symptoms typically begin to improve after a few weeks of treatment. Your doctor will most likely take and analyze another stool sample after treatment is complete to see if the worms have disappeared.
What is the incubation period for Guinea worm disease?
As the incubation period of the worm takes
10–14 months
, a single missed case will delay eradication by a year or more.
Are guinea worms in the US?
The North American guinea worms are
nematodes found in numerous furbearing species in the U.S.
and Canada. Two species of worms, Dracunculus insignis and D. lutrae, are recognized under this common name. The slender worms reside in the subcutaneous spaces of the legs, resulting in ulcerations in these affected areas.
Can humans get worms from guinea pigs?
Just as dogs and cats can get parasites, so
can pet rabbits, guinea pigs, chinchillas
, and small rodents. While there are hundreds of possible parasites that animals can carry, some are more common than others, and not all of them are transmittable to people.
Why can guinea worm infection be eradicated?
Unfortunately,
there is no medicine to cure
Guinea worm disease nor a vaccine to prevent it, and humans do not develop immunity to the disease. However, disease transmission can be prevented. Guinea worm disease is on track to become the second human disease, and the first parasitic disease, to be eradicated.
