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Emerging Infectious Diseases Nov 2016A third-stage (infective) larva of Dracunculus medinensis, the causative agent of Guinea worm disease, was recovered from a wild-caught Phrynobatrachus francisci frog in...
A third-stage (infective) larva of Dracunculus medinensis, the causative agent of Guinea worm disease, was recovered from a wild-caught Phrynobatrachus francisci frog in Chad. Although green frogs (Lithobates clamitans) have been experimentally infected with D. medinensis worms, our findings prove that frogs can serve as natural paratenic hosts.
Topics: Animals; Anura; Chad; Dracunculiasis; Dracunculus Nematode; Helminthiasis, Animal; Larva
PubMed: 27560598
DOI: 10.3201/eid2211.161332 -
The American Journal of Tropical... Aug 2017A decade after reporting its last case of Guinea worm disease (GWD), a waterborne parasitic disease targeted for eradication, Chad reported 20 confirmed human cases from...
A decade after reporting its last case of Guinea worm disease (GWD), a waterborne parasitic disease targeted for eradication, Chad reported 20 confirmed human cases from 17 villages-10 cases in 2010 and 10 cases in 2011. In 2012, the first GWD dog infections were diagnosed. We conducted a case-control study during April-May 2012 to identify human transmission risk factors and epidemiologic links. We recruited 19 cases and 45 controls matched by age, sex, time, and location of exposure based on the case patients' periods of infection 10-14 months earlier. Data were analyzed with simple conditional logistic regression models using Firth penalized likelihood methods. Unusually, GWD did not appear to be associated with household primary water sources. Instead, secondary water sources, used outside the village or other nonprimary sources used at home, were risk factors (matched odds ratio = 38.1, 95% confidence interval = 1.6-728.2). This study highlights the changing epidemiology of GWD in Chad-household primary water sources were not identified as risk factors and few epidemiologic links were identified between the handfuls of sporadic cases per year, a trend that continues. Since this investigation, annual dog infections have increased, far surpassing human cases. An aquatic paratenic host is a postulated mode of transmission for both dogs and humans, although fish could not be assessed in this case-control study due to their near-universal consumption. GWD's evolving nature in Chad underscores the continued need for interventions to prevent both waterborne and potential foodborne transmission until the true mechanism is established.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Case-Control Studies; Chad; Child; Child, Preschool; Disease Outbreaks; Dracunculiasis; Female; Humans; Logistic Models; Male; Middle Aged; Population Surveillance; Recurrence; Risk Factors; Young Adult
PubMed: 28722616
DOI: 10.4269/ajtmh.16-1026 -
International Journal of Infectious... Jun 2020The global Guinea Worm Eradication Program has reduced numbers of human infections of Guinea worm disease (dracunculiasis) to 49 cases in four countries. However,...
Cooking copepods: The survival of cyclopoid copepods (Crustacea: Copepoda) in simulated provisioned water containers and implications for the Guinea Worm Eradication Program in Chad, Africa.
INTRODUCTION
The global Guinea Worm Eradication Program has reduced numbers of human infections of Guinea worm disease (dracunculiasis) to 49 cases in four countries. However, infections of domestic animals (dogs and cats) have recently been recognized and are increasing. Typically, Guinea worm (Dracunculus medinensis) transmission occurs via the ingestion of copepods from water. Despite several interventions, including tethering of dogs while worms emerge, the number of infected dogs continue to increase. One hypothesis is that dogs could be infected through the ingestion of copepods in provisioned water.
OBJECTIVES
The purpose of this study was to determine whether copepods can survive in water containers under typical Chadian temperatures.
METHODS
Four container types (plastic, glass, gourd, and metal) were seeded with copepods and exposed to simulated Chadian temperatures.
RESULTS
All copepods in the metal containers died within 4 h. Conversely, after 8 h live copepods were still present in plastic, glass, and gourd containers.
CONCLUSIONS
If provisioned water is provided to potential hosts of D. medinensis, metal containers create the most inhospitable environment for copepods. Plastic containers have little effect on copepod mortality. The use of metal containers for water provisions could be a useful tool assisting with the interruption of D. medinensis transmission among dogs.
Topics: Animals; Chad; Copepoda; Dog Diseases; Dogs; Dracunculiasis; Dracunculus Nematode; Infection Control; Water
PubMed: 32173575
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijid.2020.03.016 -
The National Medical Journal of India 2019Dracunculiasis or guinea-worm infection is a water-borne, parasitic disease that can cause major morbidity. Dracunculiasis in patients with diabetes can be misdiagnosed...
Dracunculiasis or guinea-worm infection is a water-borne, parasitic disease that can cause major morbidity. Dracunculiasis in patients with diabetes can be misdiagnosed as a diabetic foot abscess, which is a common complication of poorly controlled diabetes. This is a report of guinea-worm disease (GWD) in a 57-year-old man with diabetes from a rural area of Kerala. There is need for awareness among physicians about the occurrence of GWD in people with diabetes and the need to ensure supply of safe drinking water to prevent its re- emergence. Though WHO has declared India free of GWD, a few cases have been reported from the country.
Topics: Abscess; Animals; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2; Diabetic Foot; Diagnosis, Differential; Dracunculiasis; Dracunculus Nematode; Drinking Water; Foot; Humans; India; Male; Middle Aged
PubMed: 31823935
DOI: 10.4103/0970-258X.272111 -
Gates Open Research Jun 2018The objective of this study was to document the worldwide decline of dracunculiasis (Guinea worm disease, GWD) burden, expressed as disability-adjusted life years...
The objective of this study was to document the worldwide decline of dracunculiasis (Guinea worm disease, GWD) burden, expressed as disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), from 1990 to 2016, as estimated in the Global Burden of Disease study 2016 (GBD 2016). While the annual number of cases of GWD have been consistently reported by WHO since the 1990s, the burden of disability due to GWD has not previously been quantified in GBD. The incidence of GWD was modeled for each endemic country using annual national case reports. A literature search was conducted to characterize the presentation of GWD, translate the clinical symptoms into health sequelae, and then assign an average duration to the infection. Prevalence measures by sequelae were multiplied by disability weights to estimate DALYs. The total DALYs attributed to GWD across all endemic countries (n=21) in 1990 was 50,725 (95% UI: 35,265-69,197) and decreased to 0.9 (95% UI: 0.5-1.4) in 2016. A cumulative total of 12,900 DALYs were attributable to GWD from 1990 to 2016. Using 1990 estimates of burden propagated forward, this analysis suggests that between 990,000 to 1.9 million DALYs have been averted as a result of the eradication program over the past 27 years.
PubMed: 30234196
DOI: 10.12688/gatesopenres.12827.1 -
Releve Epidemiologique Hebdomadaire May 2015
Topics: Chad; Disease Eradication; Dracunculiasis; Ethiopia; Global Health; Humans; Kenya; Mali; Sudan
PubMed: 26027017
DOI: No ID Found -
Medecine Tropicale Et Sante... Dec 2021
Topics: Humans; Neglected Diseases; Neural Tube Defects; Tropical Medicine
PubMed: 35685856
DOI: 10.48327/mtsi.2021.189 -
MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly... Nov 2019In the report "Progress Toward Global Eradication of Dracunculiasis - January 2018-June 2019," on page 979, a sentence was omitted from the first paragraph. The...
In the report "Progress Toward Global Eradication of Dracunculiasis - January 2018-June 2019," on page 979, a sentence was omitted from the first paragraph. The paragraph should have read as follows.
PubMed: 31774742
DOI: 10.15585/mmwr.mm6847a3 -
Parasites & Vectors Jul 2015Despite being certified guinea worm free in 2007, Cameroon continues surveillance efforts to ensure rapid verification of any suspected reoccurrence. This includes the...
BACKGROUND
Despite being certified guinea worm free in 2007, Cameroon continues surveillance efforts to ensure rapid verification of any suspected reoccurrence. This includes the investigation of every rumor and confirmation of each suspicious expulsed worm. This paper presents fieldwork carried out to investigate a guinea worm rumor in Cameroon which turned out to be an Onchocerca volvulus mimicking Dracunculus medinensis.
METHODS
The investigation included a field visit to the subsistence farming community where the rumor was reported. During the visit, interviews were conducted with health staff who managed the case and the elderly farmer from whom the worm was retrieved. An investigation of any potential missed guinea worm cases was also conducted through interviews with community residents and reviews of the health facility's medical records. This was combined with laboratory analyses of water samples from the community's water sources and the retrieved worm which was removed from the patient via wrapping it around a stick.
RESULTS
Microscopy and molecular analyses of the retrieved worm revealed a female Onchocerca volvulus whose expulsion strongly mimicked guinea worm. In addition to presenting findings of our investigation, this paper discusses distinguishing elements between the two parasites and gives an overview of guinea worm eradication efforts in Cameroon as well as current challenges to the worm's eradication globally.
CONCLUSIONS
The investigation findings suggest the evolving Onchocerca volvulus worm tropisms' adaptive survival behavior worth further investigation. Strategies used to successfully control guinea worm in Cameroon could be adapted for Onchocerca volvulus control.
Topics: Aged; Animals; Cameroon; Diagnosis, Differential; Dracunculiasis; Dracunculus Nematode; Farms; Female; Humans; Onchocerca volvulus; Onchocerciasis; Travel; Water
PubMed: 26178636
DOI: 10.1186/s13071-015-1004-1 -
Releve Epidemiologique Hebdomadaire Nov 2015
Topics: Chad; Dracunculiasis; Ethiopia; Humans; Kenya; Mali; South Sudan; Sudan
PubMed: 26591027
DOI: No ID Found