When the adult female worm comes out of the skin, it can be very painful, take time to remove, and be disabling. People in remote rural communities who have Guinea worm disease often do not have access to health care. More than 90% of worms come out of the legs and feet, but worms can appear on other body parts, too. A few days to hours before the worm comes out of the skin, the person may develop a fever, swelling, and pain in the area. People do not usually have symptoms until about one year after they become infected. What are the signs and symptoms of Guinea worm disease? Copepods swallow these larvae and the cycle begins again. Water contact triggers the Guinea worm to release a milky white liquid that contains millions of immature larvae into the water. Whether to relieve pain or as part of their daily lives (e.g., to collect water, bathe, wash clothes, cool off, etc.), people and animals infected with Guinea worm usually enter bodies of water. This blister causes a very painful burning feeling and it bursts within 24–72 hours. This blister may form anywhere on the body, but usually forms on the legs and feet.
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A blister then forms on the skin where the worm will eventually emerge. When the adult female worm is ready to release her larvae, approximately 1 year after infection, she moves to a spot just beneath the skin.
During the next 10–14 months, the male worm dies and the pregnant female worm grows to 60–100 centimeters (2–3 feet) in length and as wide as a cooked spaghetti noodle. If the fish or frogs are eaten raw or undercooked, the Guinea worm larvae are then released into the human or animal digestive tract.įollowing ingestion, the copepods die and release the larvae, which penetrate the host stomach and intestinal wall and move to the connective tissues of the abdomen where they mate. People who drink water containing copepods that have swallowed Guinea worm larvae can develop Guinea worm disease.Īlternatively, it is believed that people and animals might also become infected by eating certain aquatic animals, like fish or frogs, that might have swallowed infected copepods and might carry Guinea worm larvae but do not themselves suffer the effects of infection. These copepods swallow Guinea worm larvae. People become infected with Guinea worms by drinking unfiltered water from ponds and other stagnant water containing copepods (tiny “water fleas” too small to be clearly seen without a magnifying glass). GWD is considered by global health officials to be a neglected tropical disease (NTD ) and it is the first parasitic disease targeted for eradication. As a result of research into the cause of Guinea worm infections in animals, it is now believed that GWD might also be spread to both animals and humans by eating certain aquatic animals that might carry Guinea worm larvae, like fish or frogs, but do not themselves suffer the effects of transmission. However, in recent years infections in animals, particularly in dogs, have been reported. In wet regions, people generally get infected during the dry season, when surface water is drying up and becoming stagnant. In dry regions, people generally get infected during the rainy season, when stagnant surface water is available. GWD can occur at any time of the year but occurs most commonly during peak transmission season, which varies from country to country. GWD affects poor communities in remote parts of Africa that do not have safe water to drink.
GWD is spread by drinking water containing Guinea worm larvae. A parasite is an organism that feeds off another organism to survive. Dracunculiasis, also known as Guinea worm disease (GWD), is an infection caused by the parasite Dracunculus medinensis.