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. 2022 Jun 27;107(2):373-382.
doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.22-0197. Print 2022 Aug 17.

Dracunculiasis Eradication: End-Stage Challenges

Donald R Hopkins  1 , Adam J Weiss  1 , Fernando J Torres-Velez  1 , Sarah G H Sapp  2 , Kashef Ijaz  1
Affiliations

Dracunculiasis Eradication: End-Stage Challenges

Donald R Hopkins et al. Am J Trop Med Hyg. .

Abstract

This report summarizes the status of the global Dracunculiasis Eradication Program as of the end of 2021. Dracunculiasis (Guinea worm disease) has been eliminated from 17 of 21 countries where it was endemic in 1986, when an estimated 3.5 million cases occurred worldwide. Only Chad, Ethiopia, Mali, and South Sudan reported cases in humans in 2021. Chad, Ethiopia, and Mali also reported indigenous infections of animals, mostly domestic dogs, with Dracunculus medinensis. Insecurity and infections in animals are the main obstacles remaining to interrupting dracunculiasis transmission completely.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Distribution of 15 confirmed cases of dracunculiasis reported, January–December 2021.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Chad Guinea Worm Eradication Program—dog infections per month, 2019–2021.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Ethiopia Dracunculiasis Eradication Program—confirmed guinea worm cases and infections, 2018–2021.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Map showing villages reporting guinea worm in humans and/or animals in Mali, 2018–2021.
Figure 5.
Figure 5.
South Sudan Guinea Worm Eradication Program—villages reporting 1 or more cases of guinea worm disease, 2018–2021.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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References

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