Guinea Worm
 Guinea
worm disease is a parasitic disease that rarely
makes headlines but is so painful and debilitating
that its effects reach far beyond a single victim,
crippling agricultural production and reducing school
attendance. A child suffers and is unable to attend
school, work, or play. A parent suffers and is unable
to harvest crops or care for younger children. Commonly
called the "fiery serpent," dracunculiasis
— the medical term for Guinea worm disease
— has been around for centuries, but The Carter
Center is leading a worldwide effort to eradicate
the disease.
Guinea
Worm Disease Is Linked by Water
Guinea worm disease is contracted when stagnant
water, contaminated with microscopic water fleas
carrying infective larvae, is consumed. Inside a
human's abdomen, Guinea worm larvae mature and grow,
some as long as 3 feet. After a year, the Guinea
worm slowly emerges through an agonizingly painful
blister it creates in the skin (see Guinea worm
life cycle). Guinea worms can take up to two months
to be completely removed, and even then, secondary
infections may occur. Victims often immerse their
limbs in water, seeking relief from the burning
sensation caused by emerging Guinea worms, and thus
recontaminate drinking water.
Guinea
Worm Disease Affects Entire Communities
When plagued by Guinea worm, whole communities suffer,
not just the individuals with the disease. Children
with the disease cannot attend school because they,
and other victims, are incapacitated for an average
of two months after a worm has begun to emerge from
a person's body. Communities suffer food shortages
when their residents are unable to work. In southeastern
Nigeria, rice farmers lost $20 million USD in one
year because of outbreaks of Guinea worm disease.
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