Action against worms N°13

Dracunculiasis: gearing up for eradication

Overview

Eradication of an infectious disease is a rarity. Smallpox, which WHO officially certified as eradicated in 1979, is the only disease known to have been effectively wiped out.

Dracunculiasis (more commonly known as guinea-worm disease) is a second disease approaching eradication that was once responsible for millions of infections across Africa and Asia. During the 1980s, almost 3.5 million cases were reported from 20 countries worldwide, 16 of which were in Africa. Some 23 years on, the annual incidence of the disease has decreased by more than 99% and the number of endemic countries is now reduced to 6.

  • Dracunculiasis: gearing up for eradication
  • The “fiery serpent”
  • The life-cycle
  • Battling the worm
  • Impact
  • Prevention and treatment
  • Endemic countries in 2008
  • Countries in the pre-certification stage
  • Challenges


     

    Editors
    Dr D. Sankara/Dracunculiasis
    Number of pages
    8
    Reference numbers
    WHO Reference Number: WHO/HTM/NTD/PCT/2009.4
    Copyright
    World Health Organization - Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO.