Why is it in the News?

The world is on the brink of a public health triumph as it closes in on eradicating Guinea worm disease. There were more than 3.5 million cases of this disease in the 1980s, but according to the WHO, they dwindled to 14 cases in 2021, 13 in 2022, and just six in 2023.

What is Guinea Worm Disease?

• Dracunculiasis is also called guinea worm disease (GWD).
• It is an infection caused by a parasite called Dracunculus medinensis (guinea worm).
  • This parasite is an organism that survives by deriving nutrients and feeding off another organism.
• GWD spreads through drinking contaminated water.
• It is presently eradicated in most parts of the world but is still seen in remote parts of Africa and some remote rural areas in the world where there is no access to clean drinking water.
• GWD is considered endemic in three African countries, Sudan, Ethiopia, and Mali.
• In recent years, a few cases of GWD in animals, especially dogs, have been reported in developed countries as well.
• GWD is a serious condition, that causes debilitating pain and complications, affecting the quality of life

Symptoms:

• People infected with Guinea worm don’t typically have any symptoms until about a year after they're first infected.
• It’s not until the worm is about to erupt from the skin that people start to feel sick.
• What that happens, the symptoms of Guinea worm disease can include Fever, Nausea and vomiting, Diarrhoea, Shortness of breath, Burning, itching, pain, and swelling where the worm is in the body (often the legs and feet) and Blister where the worm breaks through the skin.

Impact:

• Guinea worm disease isn’t often deadly, but it can cause serious complications, lifelong disabilities, and financial hardship for those involved.
• The pain involved is often so intense that it’s difficult for people to work, go to school, or care for themselves or others.
• This lasts an average of 8.5 weeks, though lifelong disability is common.

Dracunculiasis Treatment:

• There is no vaccine or drug developed to prevent or treat this disease.
• The only means available is the management of the disease which is removing the whole worm and caring for the wound caused by it and avoiding infection in the process or exposure to the guinea worm larvae at all costs, especially by avoiding contaminated drinking water and stagnant water sources.
• Without proper treatment, wounds caused by the worm can become infected by bacteria, leading to sepsis, septic arthritis, and contractures (when joints lock and deform).
  • In some cases, these infections become life-threatening.