It is endemic in some african countries including sudan, ghana, and nigeria within rural communities without safe drinking water. Chad has led to speculation that a paratenic host is involved in the life cycle. Dracunculus medinensis is a parasite that feeds off of the nutrients of its hosts. The transmission cycle from the time infection occurs until a mature worm emerges from the body takes about 1014 months to complete. The validity of the relationships among the various groups of spirurids has been supported by recent analyses of smallsubunit rrna sequences 16. A person drinks water containing water fleas infected by the larvae of the d. A thirdstage infective larva of dracunculus medinensis, the causative agent of guinea worm disease, was recovered from a wildcaught phrynobatrachus francisci frog in chad. About one year later, the female worm forms a painful blister in the skin, usually on a lower limb. The guinea worm creates blistersulcers in the human hosts skin. Once someone is infected by dracunculus medinensis, three major disease conditions can occur. Dracunculus medinensis is a large parasitic nematode. Dracunculus definition of dracunculus by medical dictionary. Synonym iother names i dracunculus medinensis linnaeus, 1758 guinea worm disease nematode dracunculiasis worm.
Dracunculus medinensis, the guinea worm, historically infected approximately 10 million people per year. During this stage, it is at the surface of the skin of the host. Dracunculiasis drakunkyoulieuhsis, more commonly called guinea worm disease, is a parasitic infection caused by dracunculus medinensis a long, thin worm. This documentation was recently supported by the pathological examination of an egyptian mummy in which a calcified worm was identified as dracunculus. The morphology and biology of dracunculus medinensis. Dracunculus medinensis this species causes dracunculiasis in humans parasite morphology. Free publisher full textpmc free full textpmc free pdf. The life cycle of this organism has been well documented which has assisted in reducing transmission rates. Dracunculiasis is a parasitic disease caused by dracunculus medinensis, a long, threadlike worm. The disease is caused by the female which, at up to 80 cm 31 in in length, is among the longest nematodes infecting humans. The first step on figure 2 shows that copepods have been infected with larvae and for further development of the larva, the host copepod needs to be ingested in drinking water.
This phylogenetic tree shows dracunculus medinensis as an outgroup in the comparison of the evolutionary relatedness of the family thelaziidae. Dracunculus medinensis an overview sciencedirect topics. It is the only disease transmitted solely by drinking water, and humans are its only reservoir, guinea worm disease, aka dracunculiasis, is one of those horrible, horrible stories that people tell you about travelling to third world nations in fact. Slideshare uses cookies to improve functionality and performance, and to provide you with relevant advertising. Dracunculiasis guinea worm disease is caused by the nematode roundworm dracunculus medinensis.
Blister formation of dracunculus medinensis with diagram. Symptoms are a painful, inflamed skin lesion, which contains an adult worm, and debilitating arthritis. The roundworm, dracunculus medinensis, causes dracunculiasis or guinea worm disease. Prime pubmed dracunculus medinensis journal articles from. Dracunculus medinensis causes the disease dracunculiasis which is commonly referred to as guinea worm disease gwd. Dracunculiasis symptoms, diagnosis, treatments and causes. Dracunculiasi, also known as guinea worm disease is caused by a large female nematode called, dracunculus medinensis. Public education programmes have been developed to discourage infected persons from entering. At this phase of the life cycle, it has migrated to the hosts skin. This has been accomplished by using wells, bore holes, and filters to increase access to cleaner water and. A related parasite, dracunculus medinensis, is the human guinea worm and was once responsible for over 3 million cases annually in numerous countries in africa and asia.
Guineaworm disease is caused by the parasitic worm dracunculus medinensis or guineaworm. Pdf guinea worm dracunculus medinensis infection in a. A simplified illustration of the guinea worm lifecycle. It is the largest milky white human trematode male30 mm in length, 0. Dracunculiasis guinea worm disease and the eradication initiative. Also known as guinea worm for its high prevalence along the gulf of guinea, dracunculus medinensis little dragon from medina is a parasitic nematode that infects humans and domestic animals through contaminated water. The majority of human infections occur in parts of west africa, east africa, and india. Eradication and control programs guinea worm consortium of. Dracunculus medinensis guinea worm medina worm dragon worm 2. This paper presents fieldwork carried out to investigate a guinea worm rumor in cameroon which turned out to be an onchocerca volvulus mimicking dracunculus medinensis.
The life cycle of the worm consists of six developmental stages, which are pictured below. During a joint event on the sidelines of the united nations general assembly in new york today, both organizations highlighted the need to accelerate work in concluding the. The bestknown examples of this order are the filariae, which include the important human parasites wuchereria bancrofti and brugia. The below mentioned article provides a short note on dracunculus medinensis guinea worm morphology of dracunculus medinensis guinea worm. The worm emerges from the skin in the middle of an ulcer as a whitelooking filament. Dracunculiasis, drakunkyoulieuhsis or guinea worm disease, is a preventable helminth parasitic worm infection caused by the large female roundworm dracunculus medinensis. An eradication program led by the carter center has drametically reduced the number of infections and there is hope of eradication of the disease. Humans become infected by drinking unfiltered water containing copepods small crustaceans which are infected with larvae of d. Dracunculus medinensis is a nematode that causes dracunculiasis. Individuals become infected by drinking water containing water fleas harboring the guinea worm larvae. A thirdstage infective larva of dracunculus medinensis, the causative agent of. This parasite can survive in water, human, and microscopic animal reservoirs. As previously discussed, during the life cycle of the worm, the female migrates to the skins surface and causes an allergenic reaction. A person becomes infected when they drink water that contains water fleas infected with guinea worm larvae.
Dracunculus medinensis is a parasitic nematode that is responsible for dracunculiasis, more commonly known as guinea worm disease. This worm is the largest of the tissue parasite affecting humans. It causes a painful, inflamed skin sore and debilitating arthritis. Humans become infected by drinking unfiltered water containing small crustaceans that are infected with larvae of dracunculus medinensis. Documents in that time report that when observing a mummy a calcified worm was found inside. The adult female, which carries about 3 million embryos, can measure 600 to 800 mm in length and 2 mm in diameter. Blister is a type of lesion which appears whenever the female worm of dracunculus medinensis makes an attempt to come to the surface of the body where it can readily discharge its coiled larvae.
Dracunculus medinensis or guinea worm is a nematode that causes dracunculiasis, also known as guinea worm disease. Dracunculus medinensis is ovoviviparous, meaning it produces young by means of eggs that are hatched within the body of the parent. This species infects humans in the african region, but are not fatal yusuf 2011. The thousands of embryos in the uteri of a gravid female produce high internal pressure. Infection is seen when the adult worm emerges through the skin of an infected person. The female has thousands of embryos in the uteri that cause a high internal pressure. Dracunculiasis, also called guineaworm disease gwd, is a parasitic infection by the guinea worm. Life cycle of dracunculus medinensis dracunculiasis is infection caused by the roundworm dracunculus medinensis, also known as the guinea worm. Dracunculus comes from the latin word meaning affliction with little dragons. Classification nematodes intestinal nematodes small intestine large intestine tissuesomatic nematodes lymphatic tissue subcutaneous conjunctiva body cavity 3. What diseases are caused by dracunculus medinensis. In the mid19th century, the nematode camallanus lacustris, which infects freshwater fish, was discovered to develop in copepods. In contrast, the longest recorded male guinea worm is only 4 cm 1. Beginning in the 1980s, the cdc and the carter center have led the efforts to eradicate this parasite using filters to remove copepods from drinking water.
The diet of both juveniles and adult females is composed of host tissue fluid and a small amount of blood. Since the beginning of 2019, chad alone has detected more than 1700 dogs infected with dracunculus medinensis guinea worm, and 32 of the 36 human cases reported globally. The longest adult female recorded was 800 millimetres 31 in, while the. Guinea worm dracunculus medinensis infection in a wild. In man it occupies especially the body parts like the legs, arms and back. The parasite causes a disease called dracunculosis dracunculiasis or dracontiasis. We report a patient who presented with pain and swelling in the left lumbar region. Dracunculus medinensis little dragon from medina was described in egypt as early as the 15th century bc and possibly was the fiery serpent of the israelites described in the bible. People become infected by drinking water containing tiny crustaceans infected with the roundworm. Dracunculus medinensis is a nematode endoparasite, inhabiting the subcutaneous tissues of man, dog, cat and fur bearing wild animals.
People become infected by drinking water containing tiny crustaceans that are infected with larvae of dracunculus. Dracunculus medinensis and dracunculiasis or guinea worm. Ingestion of the copepods in drinking water is the last stage that completes the cycle. Dracunculiasis is infection with dracunculus medinensis. In this article we will discuss about the blister formation of dracunculus medinensis.
Guinea worm dracunculus medinensis infection in a wildcaught. A description of the disease is found in the turin papyrus, which describes the ancient myth of the egyptian sun god. The peculiar epidemiology of dracunculus medinensis guinea worm, the causative agent of dracunculiasis guinea worm disease, in chad has led to speculation that a paratenic host is involved in the life cycle, most likely an animal with an aquatic stage that would feed upon copepods and harbor the infection for subsequent transmission to a human or dog definitive. It is transmitted by drinking contaminated water containing cyclops. Dracunculus medinensis or guinea worm is a nematode that causes dracunculiasis, also. Dracunculiasis is documented as early as the 15th century bc in egypt. Dracunculus insignis is an endoparasite with individuals being found most often in the intramuscular connective tissue of the limbs as well as the subcutaneous tissue of the abdomen in the definitive host. Dracunculiasis guinea worm disease and the eradication. Companion animal parasite council dracunculus insignis. From here, the larvae infect copepods, continuing the lifecycle. The fiery serpent of the biblical israelites numbers 21.
Long and thin, the adult female measures 500 to 1200 mm by 0. Pubmed journal articles for dracunculus medinensis were found in prime pubmed. Dracunculiasis infections msd manual consumer version. In its larval stage, the worm feeds off of the internal tissue of its host, a copepod. During the emergence of worm from the body, a painful blister develops mostly on the lower legs and feet. Life cycle of dracunculus medinensis the guinea worm. Preventive measures involve breaking the cycle of transmission by reducing contamination of water supplies and eliminating copepod hosts. The single species causing the disease in humans, dracunculus medinensis. Dracunculus medinensis guinea worm biology discussion.
750 1171 1333 934 628 1331 1464 1608 1281 1254 423 719 1592 1627 419 1317 208 130 1613 64 223 400 684 1436 726 1349 1441 1369 600 1 66 1499 975 440 142 36