Description

Dracunculiasis, also called Guinea-worm disease, is a parasitic infection by the Guinea worm. A person becomes infected by drinking water contaminated with Guinea-worm larvae that reside inside copepods. Stomach acid digests the copepod and releases the Guinea worm larva, which penetrates the digestive tract and escapes into the body. Around a year later, the adult female worm migrates to an exit site – usually the lower leg – and induces an intensely painful blister on the skin. Eventually, the blister bursts, creating a painful wound from which the worm gradually emerges over several weeks. The wound remains painful throughout the worm's emergence, disabling the affected person for the three to ten weeks it takes the worm to emerge. The female worm releases larvae when the host submerges the wound in water in attempts to relieve the pain, thus continuing the life cycle.