Dracunculiasis (Guinea Worm Disease) and the Eradication Initiative

Cairncross, Sandy; Müller, R.; Zagaria, Nevio

doi:10.1128/cmr.15.2.223-246.2002

Cited by 140 publications

(151 citation statements)

References 72 publications

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“…Till date there is no accurate and efficient curative drug of vaccine is available against dracunculiasis [21]. The investigation suggests that the immunity is not developed by the infected individual [22]. Dracunculusmedinensis -specific antibodies (total, IgG1 and IgG4) during the time of patency, which were significantly higher than the levels measured in the same individuals eight months later, except for a few individuals who had developed a new patent infection [23].…”

Section: Sonu Mishra and Virendra S Gomasementioning

confidence: 94%

Identification of Antigenic Determinants, Solvent Accessibility and MHC Binders of Antigen NADH Dehydrogenase Subunit 5 from a Little Dragon from Medina (Dracunculusmedinensis)

Mishra¹,

Gomase²

2016

Drug Des

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Dracunculiasis caused by the pathogen Dracunculus medinensis (a little dragon from Medina). The Cyclops is the intermediate host that ingests the larvae of parasite (D. medinensis), that later on ingested by the human from the contaminated stagnant unfiltered water from the water source. After an incubation period of a year these mature female worm comes towards the skin and start formation of a small round bulge on the skin by secreting an irritating chemical which causes severe pain. In this study we will summarize the potency of NADH dehydrogenase subunit 5 (mitochondrion) from Dracunculus medinensis with 527 amino acids. Antigenic peptide of NADHdehydrogenasesubunit5 protein is most suitable for subunit vaccine development because with single epitope, the immune response can be generated in large population. In this research, we used PSSM and SVM algorithms for the prediction of MHC class I and II binding peptide, antigenicity, Solvent accessibility, polar and nonpolar residue to analyse the regions that are likely exposed on the surface of proteins which are potentially antigenic that allows potential drug targets to identify active sites against infection as well as to design effective drug to treat it.

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Section: Sonu Mishra and Virendra S Gomasementioning

confidence: 94%

Identification of Antigenic Determinants, Solvent Accessibility and MHC Binders of Antigen NADH Dehydrogenase Subunit 5 from a Little Dragon from Medina (Dracunculusmedinensis)

Mishra¹,

Gomase²

2016

Drug Des

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“…The most important 257 work on the biology of Guinea worm disease conducted during subsequent decades 258 has been reviewed by Muller (1971) and Cairncross et al (2002). Scientists who 259 continued Fedchenko and Leiper's work on the natural history of the disease include 260…”

Section: Follow Up Studies By Other Scientists 254mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…including Muller (1968Muller ( , 1971, repeated his work on the effect of gastric acid on 264 infected copepods and the aetiology of the disease (Cairncross, et al 2002) (Litvinov, 1991). 288…”

Section: Follow Up Studies By Other Scientists 254mentioning

confidence: 99%

Guinea worm: from Robert Leiper to eradication

2017

Self Cite

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SUMMARYGuinea worm disease, dracunculiasis or dracontiasis, is an ancient disease with records going back over 4500 years, but until the beginning of the 20th century, little was known about its life cycle, particularly how humans became infected. In 1905, Robert Thomas Leiper was sent by the British colonial authorities to West Africa to investigate the spread of Guinea worm disease and to recommend measures to prevent it. While carrying out his investigations, he made important contributions to the aetiology, epidemiology and public health aspects of Guinea worm disease and provided definitive answers to many outstanding questions. First, he tested the validity of previous theories; second, he confirmed the role of water fleas, which he identified as Cyclops, as the intermediate hosts in the life cycle; third, he investigated the development of the parasite in its intermediate host; and fourth, he recommended measures to prevent the disease.[The crustacean Order Cyclopoida in the Family Cyclopidae contains 25 genera, including Cyclops which itself contains over 400 species and may not even be a valid taxon. It is not known how many of these species (or indeed species belonging to related genera) can act as intermediate hosts of Dracunculus medinensis nor do we know which species Fedchenko, Leiper and other workers used in their experiments. It is, therefore, best to use the terms copepod, or copopoid crustacean rather than Cyclops in scientific texts. In this paper, these crustaceans are referred to as copepods except when referring to an original text.]Leiper described the remarkable changes that took place when an infected copepod was placed in a dilute solution of hydrochloric acid; the copepod was immediately killed, but the Dracunculus larvae survived and were released into the surrounding water. From this, he concluded that if a person swallowed an infected copepod, their gastric juice would produce similar results. He next infected monkeys by feeding them copepods infected with Guinea worm larvae, and thus conclusively demonstrated that humans became infected by accidentally ingesting infected crustaceans. Based on these conclusions, he advocated a number of control policies, including avoidance of contaminated drinking water or filtering it, and these preventive measures paved the way for further research. The challenge to eradicate Guinea worm disease was not taken up until about seven decades later since when, with the support of a number of governmental and non-governmental organizations, the number of cases has been reduced from an estimated 3·5 million in 1986 to 25 in 2016 with the expectation that this will eventually lead to the eradication of the disease.

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“…Drinking unfiltered water from stagnant water sources containing the infected Cyclops perpetuates the transmission cycle [5]. Although no vaccine is available for prevention or medicine for mass treatment [5][6][7][8], the transmission cycle can be broken at different points by avoiding contaminated sources of drinking water, filtering unsafe water with cloth and fine-mesh strainers before consuming, drinking water from improved sources and controlling the vectors of transmission (figure 1).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dracunculiasis (guinea worm disease): eradication without a drug or a vaccine

Biswas

Sankara

Agua-Agum

et al. 2013

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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Dracunculiasis, commonly known as guinea worm disease, is a nematode infection transmitted to humans exclusively via contaminated drinking water. The disease prevails in the most deprived areas of the world. No vaccine or medicine is available against the disease: eradication is being achieved by implementing preventive measures. These include behavioural change in patients and communities—such as self-reporting suspected cases to health workers or volunteers, filtering drinking water and accessing water from improved sources and preventing infected individuals from wading or swimming in drinking-water sources—supplemented by active surveillance and case containment, vector control and provision of improved water sources. Efforts to eradicate dracunculiasis began in the early 1980s. By the end of 2012, the disease had reached its lowest levels ever. This paper reviews the progress made in eradicating dracunculiasis since the eradication campaign began, the factors influencing progress and the difficulties in controlling the pathogen that requires behavioural change, especially when the threat becomes rare. The challenges of intensifying surveillance are discussed, particularly in insecure areas containing the last foci of the disease. It also summarizes the broader benefits uniquely linked to interventions against dracunculiasis.

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Dracunculiasis (Guinea Worm Disease) and the Eradication Initiative

Cited by 140 publications

References 72 publications

Identification of Antigenic Determinants, Solvent Accessibility and MHC Binders of Antigen NADH Dehydrogenase Subunit 5 from a Little Dragon from Medina (Dracunculusmedinensis)

Identification of Antigenic Determinants, Solvent Accessibility and MHC Binders of Antigen NADH Dehydrogenase Subunit 5 from a Little Dragon from Medina (Dracunculusmedinensis)

Guinea worm: from Robert Leiper to eradication

Dracunculiasis (guinea worm disease): eradication without a drug or a vaccine

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