Guinea Worm Disease (Dracunculiasis) -Jedidiah Nixon

What is Guinea Worm Disease? About Guinea Worm Disease Guinea worm disease is caused by the nematode roundworm parasite Dracunculus medenisis Guinea worm disease is contracted when people ingest water containing copepods (water fleas) that harbor Guinea worm larvae. Inside the unfortunate human’s abdomen, Guinea Worm larvae mate-the males die shortly after, but the females mature and grow, sometimes up to a meter in length. About a year after the person has become infected, the adult female worms emerge from the skin (usually 1 to 3 emerge at once) If the partially emerged female worm makes contact with water, it releases its larvae… and the circle of life begins again… isn’t it beautiful The emergence of the worm is painful and often incapacitates people for 2 to 3 months Treatment/Prevention of Guinea Worm Disease There is no known curative medicine or vaccine to prevent Guinea worm disease Traditionally, the partially emerged female worm is removed by being wrapped around a small stick and extracted by hand-a slow painful process that takes weeks The best way to stop Guinea Worm disease is to prevent people from entering sources of water with an active infection A simple way to avoid contracting Guinea worm disease is to drink through a tube with a filter made from a triple layer of cotton cloth, tube-filters such as this can be made from readily available materials and are also distributed by the Carter Center.

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