The World Health Organization (WHO) has received reports of 21 human cases of dracunculiasis for the period 1 January – 30 September 2018, including 11 confirmed cases from Chad and nine from South Sudan.
In addition to transmission of Dracunculus medinensis in humans, 999 infected animals have been reported from three countries, as follows:
Chad
- 966 (dogs)
Ethiopia
- 11 dogs
- 5 cats
- 1 baboon
Mali
- 16 dogs
South Sudan
- No infection in animals reported
Mali has reported zero human cases since 2016; the last case was reported in November 2015. Ethiopia reported its last human case in December 2017.
In a surprising turn of events, Angola, while preparing its dossier for submission to WHO to verify the absence of transmission, detected its first human case in April 2018. The case, an 8-year old girl, is from the village of Oluxua Kaluanga in the municipality of Namacunde of Cunene province (near the border with Namibia). As part of its collaboration with the Angolan Ministry of Health, WHO immediately dispatched a team of six international experts to investigate the case.
A preliminary report has concluded that this case may have been part of undetected, limited foci as no further cases have surfaced. With the support of the Angolan authorities, a stronger surveillance system is being implemented.
WHO is advocating for stronger surveillance even by national eradication programmes in countries that have already been certified free of dracunculiasis transmission. On 24–25 July 2018, WHO convened a meeting of 30 representatives of dracunculiasis-free countries to discuss the need to maintain surveillance activities in all certified countries, including expansion of surveillance activities among animals.
The meeting, held in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, also emphasized the importance of robust cross-border surveillance among countries around West, Central and Eastern Africa. It was followed by another important cross-border meeting involving representatives from Cameroon, Central African Republic and Chad (N’Djamena, 15–16 August 2018) focused also on strengthening surveillance and capacity of health workers across border areas to promptly report and respond to rumours.
Customized surveillance strategies and operational action plans have been developed with the needed monitoring and evaluation of surveillance in the border areas of Chad, Cameroon and the Central African Republic.