Guinea worm

People find my conversations about parasitic worms stomach turning but on my drive home last night, I was listening to NPR about the ever increasing environmental problems facing African countries.  What I found alarming with the show from last night was the ever increasing occurrence of the Guinea Worm disease.

For those who are squeamish,  DO NOT continue reading this post.

According to the Directors of Health Promotion and Education, Guinea worm disease is a parasitic worm infection that occurs mainly in Africa. It is also called dracunculiasis [dra-KUNK-you-LIE-uh-sis].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.  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.  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.  Infected persons usually do not have symptoms until about a year after they drink water contaminated with infected water fleas.  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.

                      You can see the worms in the x-ray.


So this is a warming for people deciding to travel to parts of the African continent.  Be very aware of the many diseases one can contract while abroad.  Just remember to boil your water before consuming.