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International Journal of Infectious... Apr 2021Guinea worm (GW) disease, caused by Dracunculus medinensis, is an almost eradicated waterborne zoonotic disease. The World Health Organization (WHO) currently lists GW...
Guinea worm (GW) disease, caused by Dracunculus medinensis, is an almost eradicated waterborne zoonotic disease. The World Health Organization (WHO) currently lists GW as endemic in only five African countries. In July 2020, the Vietnamese public health surveillance system detected a hanging worm in a 23-year-old male patient, who did not report any travel to Africa or any country previously endemic for GW. The patient was hospitalized with symptoms of fatigue, anorexia, muscle aches, and abscesses, with worms hanging out of the skin in the lower limbs. The worms were retrieved from the lesions and microscopically examined in Vietnam, identifying structures compatible with Dracunculus spp. and L1-type larvae. A section of this parasite was sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, United States, for confirmatory diagnosis of GW. The adult worm had cuticle structures compatible with Dracunculus parasites, although the length of L1 larvae was about 339 μm, substantially shorter than D. medinensis. DNA sequence analysis of the 18S small subunit rRNA gene confirmed that this parasite was not GW, and determined that the sample belonged to a Dracunculus sp. not previously reported in GenBank that clustered with the animal-infective Dracunculus insignis and Dracunculus lutrae, located in a different clade than D. medinensis. This study highlights the importance of effective public health surveillance systems and the collaborative work of local public health authorities from Vietnam with the WHO and CDC in efforts to achieve the eradication of GW.
Topics: Animals; Anthelmintics; Dracunculiasis; Dracunculus Nematode; Humans; Larva; Male; Public Health Surveillance; Thiabendazole; Treatment Outcome; Vietnam; Waterborne Diseases; Young Adult
PubMed: 33737138
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijid.2021.02.018 -
Lancet (London, England) Feb 2021
Topics: Animals; Disease Eradication; Dracunculiasis; Dracunculus Nematode; Humans
PubMed: 33640060
DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(21)00262-2 -
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases 2013
Review
Topics: Communicable Disease Control; Disease Eradication; Dracunculiasis; Global Health; Humans; Neglected Diseases
PubMed: 23738022
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0002160 -
Releve Epidemiologique Hebdomadaire Apr 2001
Topics: Chad; Dracunculiasis; Humans; Population Surveillance
PubMed: 11957337
DOI: No ID Found -
Medical History Apr 1988
Topics: Animals; Dracunculiasis; Egypt, Ancient; History, Ancient; Humans
PubMed: 2967412
DOI: 10.1017/s0025727300048006 -
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 -
Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine Jan 1982
Topics: Dracunculiasis; Global Health; Humans; Sanitation; Water Supply
PubMed: 6460099
DOI: 10.1177/014107688207500101 -
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 -
The American Journal of Tropical... Aug 2010This report describes how Nigeria, a country that at one time had the highest number of cases of dracunculiasis (Guinea worm disease) in the world, reduced the number of...
This report describes how Nigeria, a country that at one time had the highest number of cases of dracunculiasis (Guinea worm disease) in the world, reduced the number of cases from more than 653,000 in 1988 to zero in 2009, despite numerous challenges. Village-based volunteers formed the foundation of the program, which used health education, cloth filters, vector control, advocacy for safe water, voluntary isolation of patients, and monitored program interventions and cases reported monthly. Other factors in the program's success were strong governmental support, advocacy by a former head of state of Nigeria, technical and financial assistance by The Carter Center, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the United Nations Children's Fund, the World Health Organization, and many other partners and donors. The estimated cost of the Nigerian program during 1988-2009 is $37.5 million, not including funding for water supply projects or salaries of Nigerian governmental workers.
Topics: Anthelmintics; Communicable Disease Control; Disease Outbreaks; Dracunculiasis; Environmental Health; Filtration; Health Education; Humans; National Health Programs; Nigeria; Time Factors; Water; Water Supply
PubMed: 20682859
DOI: 10.4269/ajtmh.2010.10-0140 -
MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly... Oct 2013Dracunculiasis (Guinea worm disease) is caused by Dracunculus medinensis, a parasitic worm. Approximately 1 year after infection from contaminated drinking water, the...
Dracunculiasis (Guinea worm disease) is caused by Dracunculus medinensis, a parasitic worm. Approximately 1 year after infection from contaminated drinking water, the worm emerges through the skin of the infected person, usually on the lower limb. Pain and secondary bacterial infection can cause temporary or permanent disability that disrupts work and schooling. In 1986, the World Health Assembly (WHA) called for dracunculiasis elimination, and the global Guinea Worm Eradication Program, supported by The Carter Center, World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), CDC, and other partners, began assisting ministries of health of dracunculiasis-endemic countries in meeting this goal. At that time, an estimated 3.5 million cases occurred each year in 20 countries in Africa and Asia. This report updates published and unpublished surveillance data reported by ministries of health and describes progress toward dracunculiasis eradication. A total of 542 cases were reported in 2012, compared with 1,058 in 2011. The disease remains endemic in four countries in 2013, but the overall rate of reduction in cases has accelerated compared with the first 6 months of 2012. In the month of January 2013, no cases were reported worldwide for the first time since the eradication program began in 1986. Failures in surveillance and containment, lack of clean drinking water, insecurity in Mali and parts of South Sudan, and an unusual epidemiologic pattern in Chad are the main remaining challenges to dracunculiasis eradication.
Topics: Africa; Disease Eradication; Dracunculiasis; Global Health; Humans; Incidence; Population Surveillance; Social Conditions; Water Supply
PubMed: 24153313
DOI: No ID Found