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MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly... Oct 2016Dracunculiasis (Guinea worm disease) is caused by Dracunculus medinensis, a parasitic worm. Approximately 1 year after a person acquires infection from drinking...
Dracunculiasis (Guinea worm disease) is caused by Dracunculus medinensis, a parasitic worm. Approximately 1 year after a person acquires infection from drinking contaminated water, the worm emerges through the skin, usually on the leg. Pain and secondary bacterial infection can cause temporary or permanent disability that disrupts work and schooling. The campaign to eradicate dracunculiasis worldwide began in 1980 at CDC. In 1986, the World Health Assembly called for dracunculiasis elimination (1), and the global Guinea Worm Eradication Program, led by the Carter Center and supported by the World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), CDC, and other partners, began assisting ministries of health in countries where dracunculiasis was endemic. In 1986, an estimated 3.5 million cases were occurring each year in 20 countries in Africa and Asia (1,2). Since then, although the goal of eradicating dracunculiasis has not been achieved, substantial progress has been made. Compared with the 1986 estimate, the annual number of reported cases in 2015 has been reduced by >99%, and cases are confined to four countries with endemic disease. This report updates published (3-5) and unpublished surveillance data reported by ministries of health and describes progress toward dracunculiasis eradication during January 2015-June 2016. In 2015, a total of 22 cases were reported from four countries (Chad [nine cases], Mali [five], South Sudan [five], and Ethiopia [three]), compared with 126 cases reported in 2014 from the same four countries (Table 1). The overall 83% reduction in cases from 2014 to 2015 is the largest such annual overall reduction ever achieved during this global campaign. During the first 6 months of 2016, however, cases increased 25% compared with the same period in 2015. Continued active surveillance and aggressive detection and appropriate management of cases are essential eradication program components; however, epidemiologic challenges and civil unrest and insecurity pose potential barriers to eradication.
Topics: Disease Eradication; Dracunculiasis; Global Health; Humans
PubMed: 27736840
DOI: 10.15585/mmwr.mm6540a5 -
The American Journal of Tropical... Dec 2020Dracunculiasis, slated for global eradication, typically is acquired by drinking stagnant water containing microscopic crustaceans (copepods) infected with Dracunculus...
Dracunculiasis, slated for global eradication, typically is acquired by drinking stagnant water containing microscopic crustaceans (copepods) infected with Dracunculus medinensis larvae, causing clusters of case persons with worms emerging from the skin. Following a 10-year absence of reported cases, 9-26 sporadic human cases with few epidemiologic links have been reported annually in Chad since 2010; dog infections have also been reported since 2012. We conducted an investigation of human cases in Chad to identify risk factors. We conducted a case-control study using a standardized questionnaire to assess water and aquatic animal consumption, and links to dog infections. Case persons had laboratory-confirmed D. medinensis during 2013-2017. Each case person was matched to one to three controls without history of disease by age, gender, and residency in the village where the case person was likely infected. We estimated odds ratios (ORs) using simple conditional logistic regression. We enrolled 25 case persons with 63 matched controls. Dracunculiasis was associated with consumption of untreated water from hand-dug wells (OR: 13.4; 95% CI: 1.7-108.6), but neither with consumption of aquatic animals nor presence of infected dogs in villages. Unsafe water consumption remains associated with dracunculiasis. Education of populations about consuming safe water and using copepod filters to strain unsafe water should continue and expand, as should efforts to develop and maintain safe drinking water sources. Nevertheless, the peculiar epidemiology in Chad remains incompletely explained. Future studies of dogs might identify other risk factors.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Animals; Case-Control Studies; Chad; Child; Child, Preschool; Disease Eradication; Dog Diseases; Dogs; Dracunculiasis; Dracunculus Nematode; Drinking Water; Female; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Male; Middle Aged; Odds Ratio; Risk Factors; Surveys and Questionnaires; Young Adult
PubMed: 33289475
DOI: 10.4269/ajtmh.20-0584 -
Globalization and Health Nov 2017"Neglected Tropical Diseases" (NTDs) affect millions of people in Africa, Asia and South America. The two primary ways of strategic interventions are "preventive...
BACKGROUND
"Neglected Tropical Diseases" (NTDs) affect millions of people in Africa, Asia and South America. The two primary ways of strategic interventions are "preventive chemotherapy and transmission control" (PCT), and "innovative and intensified disease management" (IDM). In the last 5 years, phenomenal progress has been achieved. However, it is crucial to intensify research effort into NTDs, because of the emerging drug resistance. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the term NTDs covers 17 diseases, namely buruli ulcer, Chagas disease, dengue, dracunculiasis, echinococcosis, trematodiasis, human African trypanosomiasis, leishmaniasis, leprosy, lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, rabies, schistosomiasis, soil-transmitted helminthes, taeniasis, trachoma, and yaws. The aim of this study is to map out research and development (R&D) landscape through patent analysis of these identified NTDs. To achieve this, analysis and evaluation have been conducted on patenting trends, current legal status of patent families, priority countries by earliest priority years and their assignee types, technological fields of patent families over time, and original and current patent assignees.
MAIN BODY
Patent families were extracted from Patseer, an international database of patents from over 100 patent issuing authorities worldwide. Evaluation of the patents was carried out using the combination of different search terms related to each identified NTD. In this paper, a total number of 12,350 patent families were analyzed. The main countries with sources of inventions were identified to be the United States (US) and China. The main technological fields covered by NTDs patent landscape are pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, organic fine chemistry, analysis of biological materials, basic materials chemistry, and medical technology. Governmental institutions and universities are the primary original assignees. Among the NTDs, leishmaniasis, dengue, and rabies received the highest number of patent families, while human African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness), taeniasis, and dracunciliasis received the least. The overall trend of patent families shows an increase between 1985 and 2008, and followed by at least 6 years of stagnation.
CONCLUSION
The filing pattern of patent families analyzed undoubtedly reveals slow progress on research and development of NTDs. Involving new players, such as non-governmental organizations may help to mitigate and reduce the burden of NTDs.
Topics: China; Humans; Internationality; Neglected Diseases; Patents as Topic; Research; Tropical Medicine; United States
PubMed: 29137663
DOI: 10.1186/s12992-017-0306-9 -
Ghana Medical Journal Dec 2016
Topics: Animals; Disease Reservoirs; Dogs; Dracunculiasis; Dracunculus Nematode; Global Health; Humans; Neglected Diseases; Zoonoses
PubMed: 28579624
DOI: 10.4314/gmj.v50i4.1 -
BMJ Open Aug 2021To quantify conflict events and access across countries that remain to be certified free of transmission of (Guinea worm disease) or require postcertification...
OBJECTIVES
To quantify conflict events and access across countries that remain to be certified free of transmission of (Guinea worm disease) or require postcertification surveillance as part of the Guinea Worm Eradication Programme (GWEP).
SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS
Populations living in Guinea worm affected areas across seven precertification countries and 13 postcertification sub-Saharan African countries.
OUTCOME MEASURES
The number of conflict events and rates per 100 000 population, the main types of conflict and actors reported to be responsible for events were summarised and mapped across all countries. Chad and Mali were presented as case studies. Guinea worm information was based on GWEP reports. Conflict data were obtained from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project. Maps were created using ArcGIS V.10.7 and access was measured as regional distance and time to cities.
RESULTS
More than 980 000 conflict events were reported between 2000 and 2020, with a significant increase since 2018. The highest number and rates were reported in precertification Mali (n=2556; 13.0 per 100 000), South Sudan (n=2143; 19.4), Democratic Republic of Congo (n=7016; 8.1) and postcertification Nigeria (n=6903; 3.4), Central Africa Republic (n=1251; 26.4), Burkina Faso (n=2004; 9.7). Violence against civilians, protests and battles were most frequently reported with several different actors involved including Unidentified Armed Groups and Boko Haram. Chad and Mali had contracting epidemiological and conflict situations with affected regions up to 700 km from the capital or 10 hours to the nearest city.
CONCLUSIONS
Understanding the spatial-temporal patterns of conflict events, identifying hotspots, the actors responsible and their sphere of influence is critical for the GWEP and other public health programmes to develop practical risk assessments, deliver essential health interventions, implement innovative surveillance, determine certification and meet the goals of eradication.
Topics: Animals; Burkina Faso; Certification; Dracunculiasis; Dracunculus Nematode; Humans; Mali
PubMed: 34353803
DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-049732 -
The American Journal of Tropical... Nov 2020The campaign to eradicate dracunculiasis (Guinea worm [GW] disease) and its causative pathogen (GW) in Chad is challenged by infections in domestic dogs, which far...
The campaign to eradicate dracunculiasis (Guinea worm [GW] disease) and its causative pathogen (GW) in Chad is challenged by infections in domestic dogs, which far outnumber the dwindling number of human infections. We present an agent-based simulation that models transmission of GW between a shared water source and a large population of dogs. The simulation incorporates various potential factors driving the infections including external factors and two currently used interventions, namely, tethering and larvicide water treatments. By defining and estimating infectivity parameters and seasonality factors, we test the simulation model on scenarios where seasonal patterns of dog infections could be driven by the parasite's life cycle alone or with environmental factors (e.g., temperature and rainfall) that could also affect human or dog behaviors (e.g., fishing versus farming seasons). We show that the best-fitting model includes external factors in addition to the pathogen's life cycle. From the simulation, we estimate that the basic reproductive number, , is approximately 2.0; our results also show that an infected dog can transmit the infection to 3.6 other dogs, on average, during the month of peak infectivity (April). The simulation results shed light on the transmission dynamics of GWs to dogs and lay the groundwork for reducing the number of infections and eventually interrupting transmission of GW.
Topics: Animals; Chad; Computer Simulation; Dog Diseases; Dogs; Dracunculiasis; Dracunculus Nematode; Environment; Female; Life Cycle Stages; Models, Theoretical; Seasons; Temperature; Water
PubMed: 32901603
DOI: 10.4269/ajtmh.19-0466 -
The American Journal of Tropical... May 2018
Topics: Adult; Animals; Calcinosis; Dracunculiasis; Dracunculus Nematode; Female; Humans; Radiography
PubMed: 29745364
DOI: 10.4269/ajtmh.17-0944 -
Infectious Diseases of Poverty 2014In this paper, we aim to systematically analyze the effectiveness of community-based interventions (CBIs) for the prevention and control of helminthiasis including...
In this paper, we aim to systematically analyze the effectiveness of community-based interventions (CBIs) for the prevention and control of helminthiasis including soil-transmitted helminthiasis (STH) (ascariasis, hookworms, and trichuriasis), lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, dracunculiasis, and schistosomiasis. We systematically reviewed literature published before May 2013 and included 32 studies in this review. Findings from the meta-analysis suggest that CBIs are effective in reducing the prevalence of STH (RR: 0.45, 95% CI: 0.38, 0.54), schistosomiasis (RR: 0.40, 95% CI: 0.33, 0.50), and STH intensity (SMD: -3.16, 95 CI: -4.28, -2.04). They are also effective in improving mean hemoglobin (SMD: 0.34, 95% CI: 0.20, 0.47) and reducing anemia prevalence (RR: 0.90, 95% CI: 0.85, 0.96). However, it did not have any impact on ferritin, height, weight, low birth weight (LBW), or stillbirths. School-based delivery significantly reduced STH (RR: 0.49, 95% CI: 0.39, 0.63) and schistosomiasis prevalence (RR: 0.50, 95% CI: 0.33, 0.75), STH intensity (SMD: -0.22, 95% CI: -0.26, -0.17), and anemia prevalence (RR: 0.87, 95% CI: 0.81, 0.94). It also improved mean hemoglobin (SMD: 0.24, 95% CI: 0.16, 0.32). We did not find any conclusive evidence from the quantitative synthesis on the relative effectiveness of integrated and non-integrated delivery strategies due to the limited data available for each subgroup. However, the qualitative synthesis from the included studies supports community-based delivery strategies and suggests that integrated prevention and control measures are more effective in achieving greater coverage compared to the routine vertical delivery, albeit it requires an existing strong healthcare infrastructure. Current evidence suggests that effective community-based strategies exist and deliver a range of preventive, promotive, and therapeutic interventions to combat helminthic neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). However, there is a need to implement and evaluate efficient integrated programs with the existing disease control programs on a larger scale throughout resource-limited regions especially to reach the unreachable.
PubMed: 25114793
DOI: 10.1186/2049-9957-3-23 -
Current Biology : CB Feb 2022Exploitation of natural resources is a driver of human infectious disease emergence. The emergence of animal reservoirs of Guinea worm Dracunculus medinensis,...
Exploitation of natural resources is a driver of human infectious disease emergence. The emergence of animal reservoirs of Guinea worm Dracunculus medinensis, particularly in domestic dogs Canis familiaris, has become the major impediment to global eradication of this human disease. 93% of all Guinea worms detected worldwide in 2020 were in dogs in Chad. Novel, non-classical pathways for transmission of Guinea worm in dogs, involving consumption of fish, have been hypothesized to support the maintenance of this animal reservoir. We quantified and analyzed variation in Guinea worm emergence in dogs in Chad, across three climatic seasons, in multiple villages and districts. We applied forensic stable isotope analyses to quantify dietary variation within and among dogs and GPS tracking to characterize their spatial ecology. At the end of the hot-dry season and beginning of the wet season, when fishing by people is most intensive, Guinea worm emergence rates in dogs were highest, dogs ate most fish, and fish consumption was most closely associated with disease. Consumption of fish by dogs enables a non-classical transmission pathway for Guinea worm in Chad. Seasonal fisheries and the facilitation of dogs eating fish are likely contributing to disease persistence and to this key impediment to human disease eradication. Interrelated natural resource use, climatic variation, companion animal ecology, and human health highlight the indispensability of One Health approaches to the challenges of eradicating Guinea worm and other zoonotic diseases.
Topics: Animals; Dogs; Dracunculiasis; Dracunculus Nematode; Fisheries; Humans; Seasons; Zoonoses
PubMed: 34910949
DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.11.050 -
Releve Epidemiologique Hebdomadaire May 2017
Topics: Africa; Animals; Civil Disorders; Disease Eradication; Dog Diseases; Dogs; Dracunculiasis; Endemic Diseases; Global Health; Humans; Population Surveillance
PubMed: 28530374
DOI: No ID Found