Guinea Worm Disease
- Guinea worm disease is a parasitic worm
infection that occurs mainly in Africa. It
is also called dracunculiasis [dra-KUNK-you-LIE-uh-sis].
- People get infected when they drink standing
water containing a tiny water flea that is
infected with the even tinier larvae of the
Guinea worm.
- Inside the human body, the larvae mature,
growing as long as 3 feet. After a year, the
worm emerges through a painful blister in
the skin, causing long-term suffering and
sometimes crippling after-effects.
- Infection can be avoided, even in areas
where the disease is very common. Use only
water that has been filtered or obtained from
a safe source. Keep people with an open Guinea
worm wound from entering ponds or wells used
for drinking water.
What is guinea worm disease?
Guinea worm disease is a parasitic worm infection
that occurs mainly in Africa. It is also called
dracunculiasis [dra-KUNK-you-LIE-uh-sis].
What is the infectious agent that causes
guinea worm disease?
Guinea worm disease is caused by Dracunculus
medinensis, a threadlike parasitic worm
that grows and matures in people. Worms grow
up to 3 feet long and are as wide as a paper
clip wire.
How do people get Guinea worm disease?
People get infected when they drink standing
water containing a tiny water flea that is infected
with the even tinier larvae of the Guinea worm.
Over the course of a year in the human body,
the immature worms pierce the intestinal wall,
grow to adulthood, and mate. The males die,
and the females make their way through the body,
maturing to a length of as much as 3 feet, and
ending up near the surface of the skin, usually
in the lower limbs. The worms cause swelling
and painful, burning blisters. To soothe the
burning, sufferers tend to go into the water,
where the blisters burst, allowing the worm
to emerge and release a new generation of millions
of larvae. In the water, the larvae are swallowed
by small water fleas, and the cycle begins again.
Where is Guinea worm disease found?
Except for a few remote villages in the Rajastan
desert of India and in Yemen, Guinea worm disease
now occurs only in Africa. Infected areas in
Africa lie in a band between the Sahara and
the equator. More than half of all cases of
Guinea worm disease are reported from southern
Sudan. Other countries with more than 1,000
cases each year are Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Niger,
Ghana, Mali, Uganda, Togo, Benin, and Ivory
Coast. Smaller numbers of cases are reported
from Mauritania, Ethiopia, Chad, Senegal, and
Cameroon. Most cases occur in poor rural villages
that are not visited by tourists.
What are the signs and symptoms of Guinea
worm disease?
A few days to hours before the worm emerges,
the person might develop a fever and have swelling
and pain in the area where the worm is. A blister
develops and then opens into a wound. When the
wound is immersed in water, the worm begins
to emerge. Most worms appear on the legs and
feet, but they can occur anywhere on the body.
After the worm emerges, the wound often becomes
painfully swollen and infected.
How soon after exposure do symptoms appear?
Infected persons usually do not have symptoms
until about a year after they drink water contaminated
with infected water fleas.
How is Guinea worm disease diagnosed?
Diagnosis is usually made by seeing the adult
worm protruding from a skin sore.
Who is at risk for Guinea worm disease?
Anyone who drinks standing pond or well water
contaminated by persons with Guinea worm infection
is at risk. People who live in villages where
the infection is common are at greatest risk.
What is the treatment for Guinea worm disease?
There is no cure. The only treatment is to
remove the worm over many weeks by winding it
around a small stick and pulling it out a tiny
bit at a time. Sometimes the worm can be pulled
out completely within a few days, but the process
usually takes weeks or months.
No medication is available to end or prevent
infection. However, the worm can be surgically
removed before the wound begins to swell. Antihistamines
and antibiotics can reduce swelling and ease
removal of the worm.
What complications can result from Guinea
worm disease?
During the time that the worm is emerging and
being removed, the affected person suffers intense
pain and often cannot work or resume daily activities
for months. Farmers cannot tend their crops,
parents cannot care for children, and children
miss school. Even after the worms are gone,
people are often left with scarring and permanent
crippling. Infection does not produce immunity,
and many people in affected villages suffer
the disease year after year.
How common is Guinea worm disease?
Currently, many organizations, including UNICEF,
the World Health Organization, CDC, and the
Carter Presidential Center, are helping the
governments of countries where Guinea worm is
found to eliminate the disease worldwide. Since
1986, when an estimated 3.5 million people were
infected, the international campaign has eliminated
much of the disease and prevented millions of
cases. In 1995, the total number of infected
people worldwide had dropped to about 130,000,
less than 4% of the total in 1986.
How can Guinea worm disease be prevented?
Breaking the cycle of infection means keeping
Guinea worm larvae out of the drinking water.
Infection can easily be avoided, even in areas
where the disease is very common, by using only
water that has been filtered or obtained from
a safe source. Water can be boiled, filtered
through tightly woven nylon cloth, or treated
with a larvae-killing chemical. People with
an open Guinea worm wound should not enter ponds
or wells used for drinking water.
This fact sheet is for information only and
is not meant to be used for self-diagnosis or
as a substitute for consultation with a health-care
provider. If you have any questions about the
disease described above, consult a health-care
provider.
