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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 -
MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly... Nov 2019Dracunculiasis (also known as Guinea worm disease) is caused by the parasite Dracunculus medinensis and is acquired by drinking water containing copepods (water fleas)...
Dracunculiasis (also known as Guinea worm disease) is caused by the parasite Dracunculus medinensis and is acquired by drinking water containing copepods (water fleas) infected with D. medinensis larvae. The worm typically emerges through the skin on a lower limb approximately 1 year after infection, resulting in pain and disability (1). There is no vaccine or medicine to treat the disease; eradication efforts rely on case containment* to prevent water contamination and other interventions to prevent infection, including health education, water filtration, chemical treatment of unsafe water with temephos (an organophosphate larvicide to kill copepods), and provision of safe drinking water (1,2). In 1986, with an estimated 3.5 million cases occurring each year in 20 African and Asian countries (3), the World Health Assembly called for dracunculiasis elimination (4). The global Guinea Worm Eradication Program (GWEP), led by The Carter Center and supported by the World Health Organization (WHO), CDC, the United Nations Children's Fund, and other partners, began assisting ministries of health in countries with dracunculiasis. This report, based on updated health ministry data, describes progress to eradicate dracunculiasis during January 2018-June 2019 and updates previous reports (2,4,5). With only five countries currently affected by dracunculiasis (Angola, Chad, Ethiopia, Mali, and South Sudan), achievement of eradication is within reach, but it is challenged by civil unrest, insecurity, and lingering epidemiologic and zoologic questions.
Topics: Disease Eradication; Dracunculiasis; Global Health; Humans
PubMed: 31671082
DOI: 10.15585/mmwr.mm6843a5 -
Revue Medicale Suisse Oct 2019
Topics: Dracunculiasis; Humans
PubMed: 31663710
DOI: No ID Found -
The Lancet. Infectious Diseases Nov 2019
Topics: Animals; Disease Eradication; Dracunculiasis; Global Health; Humans
PubMed: 31657767
DOI: 10.1016/S1473-3099(19)30488-8 -
Nature Oct 2019
Topics: Animals; Chad; Disease Eradication; Dog Diseases; Dogs; Dracunculiasis; Dracunculus Nematode; Goals; Humans; Population Surveillance; Time Factors; World Health Organization; Zoonoses
PubMed: 31595066
DOI: 10.1038/d41586-019-02921-w -
Journal of Helminthology Aug 2019Dracunculiasis is the first parasitic disease set for eradication. However, recent events related to the Dracunculus medinensis epidemiology in certain African countries... (Review)
Review
Dracunculiasis is the first parasitic disease set for eradication. However, recent events related to the Dracunculus medinensis epidemiology in certain African countries are apparently posing new challenges to its eradication. Two novel facts have emerged: the existence of animal reservoirs (mainly dogs but also cats and baboons), and possibly a new food-borne route of transmission by the ingestion of paratenic (frogs) or transport (fish) hosts. Therefore, instead of being exclusively a water-borne anthroponosis, dracunculiasis would also be a food-borne zoonosis. The existence of a large number of infected dogs, mainly in Chad, and the low number of infected humans, have given rise to this potential food-borne transmission. This novel route would concern not only reservoirs, but also humans. However, only animals seem to be affected. Dracunculus medinensis is on the verge of eradication due to the control measures which, classically, have been exclusively aimed at the water-borne route. Therefore, food-borne transmission is probably of secondary importance, at least in humans. In Chad, reservoirs would become infected through the water-borne route, mainly in the dry season when rivers recede, and smaller accessible ponds, with a lower water level containing the infected copepods, appear, whilst humans drink filtered water and, thus, avoid infection. The total absence of control measures aimed at dogs (or at other potential reservoirs) up until the last years, added to the stimulating reward in cash given to those who find parasitized dogs, have presumably given rise to the current dracunculiasis scenario in Chad.
Topics: Africa; Animals; Cats; Chad; Copepoda; Disease Eradication; Disease Reservoirs; Dogs; Dracunculiasis; Foodborne Diseases; Humans; Water; Zoonoses
PubMed: 31434586
DOI: 10.1017/S0022149X19000713 -
Veterinary Parasitology, Regional... Aug 2018We reviewed 62 new cases and 18 published reports of Dracunculus infections in domestic dogs and cats to describe the epidemiology of this parasite in dogs and cats in...
We reviewed 62 new cases and 18 published reports of Dracunculus infections in domestic dogs and cats to describe the epidemiology of this parasite in dogs and cats in North America. We collected host and parasite data when available, including age, sex, and breed of dog, nematode location in the host, and any clinical signs at presentation and/or description of the apparent lesion. For dogs, infections were noted in six of the AKC breed groups, but none was reported from the toy group or the miscellaneous breed class. Age of infected dogs ranged from 7 months to 19 years (median 4 years; average 5.3 years), and infection rates were similar in male and female dogs. Most nematodes were associated with the distal extremities, but worms were also found in the chest/thorax, abdomen, head, and flank. Although most infected dogs had a single worm, three dogs had two or more worms that were collected from multiple lesions. Three new cat cases, with similar lesions, presentations and seasonality, were detected in Alabama, North Carolina and Texas. Cases were reported from a wide geographic range throughout eastern North America, during every month of the year, but 72% of infections were diagnosed in the late winter to early spring (December to May). All collected worms were larvigerous females which cannot be identified to species based on morphologic characters. Thus, we attempted to amplify and sequence a portion of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene for specific identification. Although 13 worms from 12 cases were available, sequences were obtained for only eight worms from seven cases. These eight worms were D. insignis, a common parasite of raccoons (Procyon lotor) and other primarily carnivorous mammals. Female worms are the most likely to be detected in dogs and cats because male worms do not emerge, parasites should be preserved in ethanol for molecular identification. Although this study used convenience sampling of available data, we found that the parasite is widespread throughout the eastern US and Canada and that Dracunculus infections in dogs are more common than is revealed in published literature. However, more research is needed to understand the epidemiology, including transmission route(s), prevalence, and distribution of this parasite.
Topics: Alabama; Animals; Canada; Cat Diseases; Cats; Dog Diseases; Dogs; Dracunculiasis; Dracunculus Nematode; Female; Male; North America; North Carolina; Texas
PubMed: 31014864
DOI: 10.1016/j.vprsr.2018.05.005 -
Lancet (London, England) Mar 2019
Topics: Animals; Disease Eradication; Dracunculiasis; Dracunculus Nematode; Epidemiological Monitoring; Humans; Incidence; Neglected Diseases
PubMed: 30938302
DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(19)30738-X -
Clinical Medicine (London, England) Mar 2019The term neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) describes a disparate group of diseases which affect populations living in poverty and are important causes of morbidity and...
The term neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) describes a disparate group of diseases which affect populations living in poverty and are important causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Global programmes for the control of NTDs benefit large-scale donations made by pharmaceutical companies. A number of NTDs have internationally agreed targets for their control, elimination and eradication. Eradication is defined as the permanent reduction to zero of the worldwide incidence of infection. Elimination is defined as the reduction to zero of the incidence of infection in a specified geographic area. Considerable progress has been made towards elimination and eradication of some NTDs but unexpected new challenges have emerged which threaten the eventual achievement of these goals.
Topics: Animals; Communicable Diseases; Disease Eradication; Dracunculiasis; Global Health; Humans; Neglected Diseases; Tropical Climate; Tropical Medicine; Yaws
PubMed: 30872302
DOI: 10.7861/clinmedicine.19-2-157 -
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases Dec 2018Trachoma and Guinea Worm Disease (GWD) are neglected tropical diseases (NTD) slated for elimination as a public health problem and eradication respectively by the World...
Trachoma and Guinea Worm Disease (GWD) are neglected tropical diseases (NTD) slated for elimination as a public health problem and eradication respectively by the World Health Organization. As these programs wind down, uncovering the last cases becomes an urgent priority. In 2010, Ghana Health Services, along with The Carter Center, Sightsavers, and other partners, conducted integrated case searches for both GWD and the last stage of trachoma disease, trachomatous trichiasis (TT), as well as providing surgical treatment for TT to meet elimination (and eradication targets). House to house case searches for both diseases were conducted and two case management strategies were explored: a centralized referral to services method and a Point of Care (POC) delivery method. 835 suspected TT cases were discovered in the centralized method, of which 554 accepted surgery. 482 suspected TT cases were discovered in the POC method and all TT cases accepted surgery. The cost per TT case examined was lower in the POC searches compared to the centralized searches ($19.97 in the POC searches and $20.85 in the centralized searches). Both strategies resulted in high surgical uptake for TT surgery, with average uptakes of 72.4% and 83.9% for the centralized and POC searches respectively. We present here that house to house case searches offering services at POC are feasible and a potential tool for elimination and eradication programs nearing their end.
Topics: Case Management; Centralized Hospital Services; Disease Eradication; Dracunculiasis; Epidemiologic Studies; Female; Ghana; Health Surveys; Humans; Male; Neglected Diseases; Point-of-Care Systems; Prevalence; Public Health; Referral and Consultation; Trachoma; Trichiasis; Tropical Medicine; World Health Organization
PubMed: 30571758
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0006623