Guinea worm disease nearly eradicated
Dracunculus medinensis, is a parasitic nematode that causes the dreadful Dracunculiasis disease, (commonly called Guinea Worm Disease). It is commonly found in the lakes, rivers and streams that provide much of Africa with drinking water. Infection is caused by drinking water with Dracunculus larvae in it. About a year after initial infection, a meter long worm burrows out of the infected person, leaving a painful skin wound. Not a pleasant image, is it?
Luckily, this terrible disease is easily prevented, since any filtering of the water, even with fine cloth, is sufficient to strain out the larvae. So eradication is mostly a matter of education, and for the past 22 years various organizations have worked together to encourage that process. More than 650,000 cases of Dracunculiasis were reported in Nigeria in 1989. In 2007 there were only 73 cases reported there. Eleven African countries have completely eliminated infection from this horrible parasite, only four countries still have active cases — and all of those report much reduced frequencies compared to a few years ago. The goal is to completely eradicate the disease next year. But don’t worry about old Dracunculus medinensis, it will still be there, lurking in the water should people let their guard down. There are plenty of other animal hosts that will keep these monsters alive when humans have learned to avoid them.