Epidemiology

Burden in figures

The global eradication campaign has made significant progress. Both the number of cases and endemic villages has fallen significantly since countries launched eradication efforts.

During the 1980s, dracunculiasis was endemic in 20 countries. In 1986, around 3.5 million new cases occurred annually.

In 2008, Niger and Nigeria interrupted transmission and reported zero indigenous cases during 2009–2010. Other countries in the pre-certification phase include Burkina Faso, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya and Togo.

In 2010, a total of 1797 cases were reported. Sudan reported 1698/1797 cases, or 94% of the global total. Ethiopia reported 21 cases, Ghana 8 cases and Mali 57 cases, representing 1%, less than 1% and 3% of the global total respectively.

In 2010, Chad, a country in the precertification phase, reported an outbreak of 10 cases after reporting zero cases to WHO for more than 10 consecutive years. The 10 indigenous cases were reported from 5 districts in 4 regions.

In 2011, 4 countries remain endemic for dracunculiasis: Ethiopia, Ghana, Mali and Sudan. Distribution of the disease is isolated to sub-Saharan Africa.