Guinea worm (Dracunculus medinensis) eradication: a pilot study conducted at the Ohaukwu Local Government Areas, Ebonyi State, Nigeria, West Africa.

[dracunculiasis]

The incidence and the prevalence of Guinea worm disease , a major cause of disability and a frequent cause of serious permanent deformity , were both drastically reduced in Ohaukwu Local Government Communities , with the provision (through bore holes ) of a safer form of drinking water . Since 1986 , the Carter Center program has been working to eradicate Guinea worm . The bore holes were dug through the Wasatan Project , a Japanese -funded grant awarded to the Enugu State Ministry of Health to help provide safer drinking water in the local communities . Bore holes were dug in several communities in Ohaukwu Local Government Areas between January 1991 and June 1991 . The number of Guinea worm cases in the selected communities was ascertained and recorded by health workers . There was more than a 90 % reduction in the number of Guinea worm (Dracunculus medinensis ) cases after one year . Data collection began in June 1991 , shortly after the completion of bore holes in the selected communities . By December 1998 , when one of the villages was spot checked for Guinea worm infection , no active case was found . There is a need for post evaluation of all the villages studied to determine the current prevalence of Guinea worm disease .

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dracunculiasis

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