Dracunculiasis eradication: global surveillance summary, 2022

In accordance with the recommendations of the International Commission for the Certification of Dracunculiasis Eradication (ICCDE), WHO has certified 200 countries, areas and territories (including 188 WHO Member States) as free of transmission of dracunculiasis (Guinea-worm disease). The latest country to be certified, in December 2022, is the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Six countries remain to be certified: Angola, Chad, Ethiopia, Mali, South Sudan and Sudan.

In 2022, 4 countries reported a total of 13 human cases of dracunculiasis, namely, Chad (6 cases), Ethiopia (1 case), South Sudan (5 cases) and the Central African Republic (CAR), which was certified as dracunculiasis-free in 2007, also reported 1 case, an infection linked to Chad, in a total of 11 villages.