Guinea Worm

What is guinea worm?

Guinea worm disease, also called dracunculiasis or dracontiasis, infection in humans caused by a parasite known as the guinea worm (Dracunculus medinensis). Historically a fairly common disease, affecting millions of people each year in the Middle East, India, and Africa, it is now relatively rare, isolated to just a handful of countries in Africa. Death from guinea worm disease is infrequent; however, because it is debilitating, affected persons often have limited mobility and are unable to perform work.

What are the sources of guinea worm infection?

Humans become infected by drinking water contaminated with water fleas which harbor the worm larvae. Larvae migrate from the intestinal tract into the abdomen, where they grow and become male and female. After mating, the fertilized female bore to other parts of the body, usually the legs. When the worm emerges from the skin, typically after a year following infection the infected human sometimes stands in shallow ponds thereby releasing larvae which are ingested by water fleas thereby restarting the life process. Symptoms of infection begin to appear to the worms emergence and include fever, pain and swelling.

How is guinea worm infection managed?

There is no specific drug treatment for guinea worm disease neither is there vaccine for the condition. Once the worm has broken into the skin it is removed via gentle traction over several weeks. Topical antibiotics often are applied to the site of the wound to prevent infection with another organism during the extraction period. Aspirin or ibuprofen may be administered to relieve pain and reduce inflammation. Prevention is the first line of defense against guinea worm disease.

Prevention is effected through a combination of surveillance, including control of water fleas and early detection of cases, and health education. In addition, the availability of clean drinking water is key to long-term prevention in affected communities.  Other approaches to prevention include the filtration of water to remove infected water fleas from suspect water sources and the treatment of contaminated water supplies with pesticides to kill the fleas.