Towards global Guinea worm eradication in 2015: the experience of South Sudan

Abstract

For centuries, the Guinea worm parasite (Dracunculus medinensis) has caused disabling misery, infecting people who drink stagnant water contaminated with the worm's larvae. In 2012, there were 542 cases of Guinea worm reported globally, of which 521 (96.1%) were reported in South Sudan. Protracted civil wars, an inadequate workforce, neglect of potable water provision programs, suboptimal Guinea worm surveillance and case containment, and fragmented health systems account for many of the structural and operational factors encumbering South Sudan's Guinea worm eradication efforts. This article reviews the impacts of six established Guinea worm control strategies in South Sudan: (1) surveillance to determine actual caseload distribution and trends in response to control measures; (2) educating community members from whom worms are emerging to avoid immersing affected parts in sources of drinking water; (3) filtering potentially contaminated drinking water using cloth filters or filtered drinking straws; (4) treating potentially contaminated surface water with the copepod larvicide temephos (Abate); (5) providing safe drinking water from boreholes or hand-dug wells; and (6) containment of transmission through voluntary isolation of each patient to prevent contamination of drinking water sources, provision of first aid, and manual extraction of the worm. Surveillance, community education, potable water provision, and case containment remain weak facets of the program. Abate pesticide is not a viable option for Guinea worm control in South Sudan. In light of current case detection and containment trends, as well as capacity building efforts for Guinea worm eradication, South Sudan is more likely to eradicate Guinea worm by 2020, rather than by 2015. The author highlights areas in which substantial improvements are required in South Sudan's Guinea worm eradication program, and suggests improvement strategies.

Public, environmental, and occupational health research activity in Arab countries: bibliometric, citation, and collaboration analysis

“…Highly pathogenic and serious viral infections like avian flu virus, hepatitis B and hepatitis C are still an important risk of morbidity and mortality and pose a real threat for some Arab countries like Egypt [30][31][32][33][34]. Similarly, serious parasitic infections like malaria, schistosomiasis and trypanosomiasis constitute major health, social and economic challenge for Egypt, Sudan, Yemen and other Arab countries [35][36][37][38][39][40]. Zoontic infections, like brucellosis and hydatid disease, are also present in several Arab countries and pose a continuous health challenge [41][42][43][44][45].…”

Assessment of research productivity of Arab countries in the field of infectious diseases using Web of Science database

“…Furthermore, highly pathogenic and serious viral infections such as the avian flu virus, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C are important risks of morbidity and mortality, and pose real threats in some Arab countries such as Egypt [13][14][15][16][17]. Similarly, serious parasitic infections such as malaria, schistosomiasis, and trypanosomiasis constitute a major health, social, and economic challenge in Egypt, Sudan, Yemen, and other Arab countries [18][19][20][21][22][23]. Zoonotic infections, such as brucellosis and hydatid disease, are also present in several Arab countries and pose a continuous health challenge [24][25][26][27][28].…”

Absence of Wolbachia endobacteria in the human parasitic nematode Dracunculus medinensis and two related Dracunculus species infecting wildlife

“…D. medinensis , perhaps the longest nematode infecting humans, was until recently a major cause of human morbidity infecting ~3.5 million individuals in Africa and Asia. Despite tremendous progress towards eradication of D. medinensis by the global Guinea Worm Eradication Program, dracunculiasis persists in 4 African nations due, in part, to resource limitations, political instability and civil war [13-17]. Although prospects for complete eradication remain promising, positive identification of Wolbachia endobacteria in D. medinensis would offer another reagent in the elimination toolbox.…”