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Chapter 63 - Guinea Worm

from Section 8 - Helminth Infections

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 June 2025

David Mabey
Affiliation:
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Martin W. Weber
Affiliation:
World Health Organization
Moffat Nyirenda
Affiliation:
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Dorothy Yeboah-Manu
Affiliation:
Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana
Jackson Orem
Affiliation:
Uganda Cancer Institute, Kampala
Laura Benjamin
Affiliation:
University College London
Michael Marks
Affiliation:
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Nicholas A. Feasey
Affiliation:
Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
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Summary

The elimination of Guinea worm disease from almost all African countries has been one of the continent’s greatest medical successes of the last 30 years. In 1986 there were an estimated 3.5 million cases in 20 countries worldwide (Biswas et al. 2013). By 2021 the disease was restricted to Africa, where five endemic countries recorded a combined total of 14 confirmed cases (CDC 2022).

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2025

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References

Biswas, G., Sankara, D.P., Agua-Agum, J. & Maiga, A. 2013. Dracunculiasis (Guinea worm disease): eradication without a drug or a vaccine. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 368(1623), 20120146.10.1098/rstb.2012.0146CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cairncross, S., Muller, R. & Zagaria, N., 2002. Dracunculiasis (Guinea worm disease) and the eradication initiative. Clinical Microbiology Reviews, 15(2), 223246.10.1128/CMR.15.2.223-246.2002CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
CDC, Guinea Worm Wrap-up #284 Memorandum, 26 January 2022.WHO Collaborating Center for Dracunculiasis Eradication, CDC.Google Scholar
Chippaux, J.P. 1991. Mebendazole treatment of dracunculiasis. Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 85(2), 280.10.1016/0035-9203(91)90056-5CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Eberhard, M.L., Ruiz-Tiben, E., Hopkins, D.R. et al. 2014. The peculiar epidemiology of dracunculiasis in Chad. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 90(1), 61.10.4269/ajtmh.13-0554CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Eberhard, M.L., Thiele, E.A., Yembo, G.E., Yibi, M.S., Cama, V.A. & Ruiz-Tiben, E. 2015. Case report: thirty-seven human cases of sparganosis from Ethiopia and South Sudan caused by Spirometra spp. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 93(2), 350.10.4269/ajtmh.15-0236CrossRefGoogle Scholar
World Health Organization (WHO). 2009. Temephos in drinking-water: use for vector control in drinking-water sources and containers. WHO Guidelines for Drinking-Water Quality. WHO/HSE/WSH/09.01/1.Google Scholar

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