• A parasitic infection caused by Dracunculus medinensis. It is caused by drinking water contaminated with water fleas. The larvae enter the body through the intestine. Signs and symptoms include pain, edema, blisters, and ulcers.
  NCI
  U.S. National Cancer Institute, 2021
• An infection that is caused by Dracunculus medinensis, which is acquired by drinking water contaminated with infected copepods. The larvae enter the body through the intestine. Signs and symptoms include pain, edema, blisters, and ulcers, with the adult female worm potentially emerging from the skin over time.
  NICHD Pediatric Terminology
  U.S. National Cancer Institute, 2021
• Infection with nematodes of the genus Dracunculus. One or more worms may be seen at a time, with the legs and feet being the most commonly infected areas. Symptoms include pruritus, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or asthmatic attacks.
  NLM Medical Subject Headings
  U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2025
• Dracunculiasis is infection with Dracunculus medinensis. Symptoms are a painful, inflamed skin lesion, which contains an adult worm, and debilitating arthritis. Diagnosis is by inspection. Treatment is slow removal of the adult worm. Dracunculiasis is close to being eradicated.
  Merck Manuals
  Merck & Co., Inc., 2025
• Dracunculiasis is an infection caused by the nematode Dracunculus medinensis, also known as the guinea worm. D medinensis is in the order Spirurida, an order of parasites that includes the filariae Wuchereria bancrofti, Brugia malayi, and Loa loa.
  Medscape
  WebMD, 2025
• Guinea worm disease, infection in humans caused by a parasite known as the guinea worm (Dracunculus medinensis). The disease's alternate name, dracunculiasis, is Latin for "affliction with little dragons," which adequately describes the burning pain associated with the infection. Historically a...
  Encyclopedia Britannica
  Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 2025